The Board has remanded several issues related to the Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including his back condition and knee conditions. The primary reasons for remand are due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the nature of the Veteran's back condition and the current severity of his left and right knee disabilities.
The deciding factor: The VA Back examination did not provide a clear opinion on whether the Veteran’s back condition is proximately due to or aggravated by his service-connected right knee disability, nor did it address the assertion that his back condition may be related to his service-connected right hip disability. The left and right knee examinations were also insufficient as they do not include an assessment of the current severity of the Veteran's disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- Back condition, Arthritis of left knee, Arthritis of right knee
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 13, 2019
- Citation
- 19118049
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,077 · Granted: 25% (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 19118049.
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 decided to remand the Veteran's claim for service connection of his back condition due to inadequate medical opinion and failure to consider all relevant evidence.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claim for service connection of his back condition due to inadequate medical opinion and failure to consider all relevant evidence.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's back condition is related to his service-connected left knee replacement residuals and grants service connection for this secondary condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's back condition is granted service connection. The claim for a condition manifested by disequilibrium and dizziness is remanded due to duty-to-assist errors.
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