The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for right and left knee disorders due to potential issues with the VA examiner's opinion regarding the relationship between the Veteran's current knee conditions and his service-connected lumbar sprain, radiculopathy of the bilateral lower extremities, and left hip bursitis.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the January 2014 VA examination did not address whether the Veteran’s altered gait impacted his bilateral knee disorder or if his right knee disorder is directly related to service.
- Claimed conditions
- Right knee disorder (degenerative joint disease), Left knee disorder (degenerative joint disease)
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 18, 2019
- Citation
- 19129888
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, alcoholism, a lung disorder, dental trauma, a right knee disorder, and left ear hearing loss as the evidence did not support a medical nexus between these conditions and the veteran's period of active duty.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for right lower extremity sciatica associated with the Veteran's service-connected lumbosacral spine strain, but remanded claims for service connection for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and sleep apnea.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that his lung cancer was related to his service-connected melanoma.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for anxiety but denied it for sleep apnea, finding that the Veteran's sleep apnea was less likely than not related to his active service or service-connected acquired psychiatric condition.
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