The Veteran's gouty arthritis of the left foot is granted with a rating of 20 percent from September 17, 2008 to May 7, 2015. The Board has remanded for further examination and opinion regarding service connection for right knee disorder, left knee disorder, and TDIU.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's gouty arthritis of the left foot was manifested by one or two exacerbations a year in a well-established diagnosis prior to May 2015. The Board found that higher-level symptoms were not present, leading to a 20 percent rating being granted for this condition.
- Claimed conditions
- gouty arthritis of the left foot, right knee disorder, left knee disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- April 22, 2019
- Citation
- 19130765
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 3,217 · Granted: 46% (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 19130765.
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 remanded the case due to the need for additional development, including obtaining SSA records and providing proper notice regarding secondary service connection.
- Granted
The Veteran's service connection claims for lumbosacral strain, asthma, melasma and hydradenitis, hypertension, an acquired psychiatric disorder (claimed as depression, anxiety, and stress), left shoulder disorder, right shoulder disorder, left knee disorder, a left foot disorder, and IBS have been granted. The remaining issues are remanded.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to errors in obtaining relevant medical records and authorization for private treatment providers. The issues include heart disorder, OSA, sinusitis, lumbar spine disorder, and right knee disorder all related to Agent Orange exposure.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a duty-to-assist error, and will need an opinion regarding whether the Veteran's right knee disorder is related to his parachute jumps during service.
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