The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hip and knee DJD, as well as lumbar spine DDD due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the relationship between these conditions and his active duty service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner’s opinions are inadequate and there is no evidence distinguishing the Veteran's symptoms from those of his service-connected fibromyalgia.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative Joint Disease (left hip), Degenerative Joint Disease (right hip), Degenerative Joint Disease (left knee), Degenerative Joint Disease (right knee), Degenerative Disc Disease of the Lumbar Spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 23, 2019
- Citation
- 19104990
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,604 · Granted: 65% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 19104990.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD and Degenerative Disc Disease of the Lumbar Spine due to a duty to assist error. The AOJ is instructed to obtain relevant medical records, including SSA disability records and Federal prison medical records, and request an addendum opinion regarding the nature and etiology of the Veteran's back disorder.
- Granted
The Veteran is granted a TDIU due to his service-connected PTSD with major depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder, as well as his lumbar spine disorder. The Board found the evidence in balance regarding whether these conditions render him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation.
- Granted
The Veteran's PTSD is granted as service-connected, and the Board finds that his back disability may be related to service. The case is remanded for a VA examination.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not meet the criteria for specially adapted housing or a special home adaptation grant due to his ability to independently ambulate without aids.
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