The Board has determined that additional development is needed before the claims on appeal can be adjudicated, including obtaining VA and private treatment records, scheduling VA examinations to assess current severity of service-connected disabilities, and considering extraschedular considerations for some issues.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's representative stated in June 2016 that increased ratings are warranted for his service-connected disabilities. The Board finds this requires additional development including obtaining relevant medical records and scheduling appropriate VA examinations to assess current disability levels.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar spine degenerative disc and joint disease, right knee patellofemoral pain syndrome, right shoulder dislocation with DJD, right elbow olecranon spurs, left elbow olecranon spurs
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 20, 2019
- Citation
- 19120171
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,858 · Granted: 24% (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 19120171.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities have resulted in loss of use of both feet, which qualifies her for an allowance for an automobile and adaptive equipment.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the Veteran's appeals regarding increased disability evaluations for right knee patellofemoral pain syndrome and left hand ring finger as he withdrew his appeal prior to a decision being made.
- Granted
The Veteran's low back disability, diagnosed as lumbosacral strain, osseous & subluxation stenosis of lumbar foramina, is granted with a rating of 40 percent effective February 9, 2024. The other service connection claims are also granted.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the appeal for increased ratings and service connection claims due to the appellant's withdrawal of the appeal.
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