The Board has remanded the Veteran's appeal for additional development due to issues with the August 2016 VA examination and the need for a new examination to accurately assess his disability level.
The deciding factor: The August 2016 VA examination did not comply with the requirements of 38 C.F.R. § 4.59, necessitating a remand for further evaluation.
- Claimed conditions
- left knee instability, left knee degenerative joint disease (DJD) with limitation of flexion, left knee scars, left knee limitation of extension
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 24, 2019
- Citation
- 19105516
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.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the appeal for service connection for bilateral knee instability and denied service connection for right and left knee instability, finding no nexus between the Veteran's knee conditions and his service or service-connected disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issues of entitlement to increased ratings for a thoracolumbar spine disorder and bilateral knee disorders due to the need for additional VA examinations.
- Granted
The Board granted an earlier effective date of October 8, 2019 for the award of a 20 percent disability rating for left knee scars.
- Denied
The Board denied restoration of the 30 percent ratings for left knee arthritis (flexion), left knee strain arthritis (extension), and left knee instability, as well as a 20 percent rating for left ankle chronic sprain. The Veteran's claims for increased ratings were also denied.
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