The Veteran's claims for increased disability ratings for thoracolumbar degenerative disc disease, right hip osteoarthritis, left hip osteoarthritis, right knee patellofemoral pain syndrome, and left knee patellofemoral pain syndrome are being remanded due to the need for additional examinations to comply with a recent Court of Appeals for Veterans' Claims (Court) opinion.
The deciding factor: The VA examination reports do not include range of motion testing as required by Correia v. McDonald, 28 Vet. App. 158 (2016).
- Claimed conditions
- thoracolumbar degenerative disc disease, right hip osteoarthritis, left hip osteoarthritis, right knee patellofemoral pain syndrome, left knee patellofemoral pain syndrome
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 16, 2019
- Citation
- 19129406
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 matter for an appropriate VA examination to determine the current nature and severity of the Veteran's right hip disability, as the April 2021 VA examination is deemed inadequate.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for rhinorrhea and denied initial compensable evaluations for headaches and left knee disability, while remanding the claim for a respiratory disorder.
- Granted
The Board granted a 30 percent rating for right knee patellofemoral pain syndrome, right knee instability, and separate 40 percent rating for right knee limitation of extension prior to July 27, 2019.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 40 percent rating for lumbosacral strain and denied or remanded the other issues on appeal.
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