The Board has remanded the case for further development to determine if the Veteran's service-connected knee disabilities caused him to gain weight, which aggravated his hypertensive vascular disease. The TDIU issue is also being remanded due to its inextricability with the other issues.
The deciding factor: The Board found that an adequate medical opinion was not obtained regarding whether the Veteran’s service-connected knee disabilities caused him to gain weight and if this weight gain aggravated his hypertensive vascular disease. The TDIU issue is also being remanded due to its inextricability with the other issues.
- Claimed conditions
- Hypertensive Vascular Disease, Internal derangement with degenerative changes, right knee, Internal derangement with degenerative changes, left knee
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 14, 2019
- Citation
- 19118309
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,374 · Granted: 19% (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 19118309.
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 remands the issues of service connection for obstructive sleep apnea and hypertensive vascular disease, as well as increased ratings for diabetic peripheral neuropathy in both upper and lower extremities due to inadequate medical opinions.
- Denied
The Veteran's hypertensive vascular disease was rated at 20 percent, and the Board found that it did not meet the criteria for a higher rating based on diastolic pressure being predominantly 120 or more.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for an initial compensable rating for his service-connected hypertensive vascular disease was denied as the evidence did not show that his systolic or diastolic pressure predominantly met the criteria for a higher rating.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection are remanded due to the need for additional medical evidence, including private treatment records from Dr. M, and a VA examination considering Gulf War exposure.
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