The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his shoulder and knee disabilities are being remanded due to the need for additional development, including obtaining updated VA treatment records and scheduling a new VA examination.
The deciding factor: The Board finds that additional development is necessary before the underlying claims can be adjudicated on the merits due to allegations of worsening symptoms and the need for an updated evaluation.
- Claimed conditions
- left bicipital tendon, rotator cuff, and labral tear, with osteoarthritis, right bicipital tendon, rotator cuff, and labral tear, with osteoarthritis, left knee degenerative joint disease with instability, right knee arthritis with limited extension, left knee degenerative joint disease (DJD) with limited extension
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 7, 2019
- Citation
- 19109055
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,017 · Granted: 36% (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 19109055.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for right ear hearing disorder, dry eye disorder, and urinary disorder. Tinnitus was granted, but the Veteran's left knee degenerative joint disease, right knee patellofemoral pain syndrome, left knee degenerative joint disease with instability, right shoulder bicipital tendonitis, and left shoulder bicipital tendonitis do not warrant increased ratings.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew his appeals for increased disability ratings in excess of 60 percent, 10 percent, and 20 percent for left knee status post total knee replacement, right knee status post meniscectomy with arthritis, and right knee arthritis with limited extension.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for additional development due to deficiencies in the VA examinations and the need to obtain updated treatment records.
- Granted
The Veteran's disability rating for left knee instability was reduced from 20 percent to noncompensable effective May 16, 2016. The reduction was proper and the 20 percent rating is not restored.
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