The Veteran's service-connected right knee osteoarthritis, thoracolumbar spine degenerative disc disease and strain with scoliosis, left knee strain, left ankle osteoarthritis, and right ankle bursitis are all remanded due to the need for updated VA examinations.
The deciding factor: The most recent VA examinations were conducted too remotely from the current time period to adequately assess the severity of the Veteran's service-connected disabilities. The Veteran testified that his conditions have worsened since these examinations, and further evidence is needed to determine their current state.
- Claimed conditions
- right knee osteoarthritis, thoracolumbar spine degenerative disc disease and strain with scoliosis, left knee strain, left ankle osteoarthritis, right ankle bursitis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 17, 2019
- Citation
- 19130111
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,062 · Granted: 34% (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 19130111.
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 expanded the scope of the claim for major depression to encompass any mental health disability raised by the record and has remanded six issues for additional development.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the appeals for service connection of various conditions due to untimely filing of the appeal.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for service connection for left knee strain, right knee strain, shin splints of the right leg, and shin splints of the left leg are being remanded due to a failure to obtain VA examinations and medical nexus opinions.
- Denied
The Veteran's initial evaluations for left knee strain, limitation of extension and flexion were both denied as the evidence did not show that his symptoms warranted a rating higher than 10 percent.
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