The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for left knee pain, right knee pain, left heel pain, and right heel pain due to a lack of evidence showing these conditions were incurred during active military service.,The Veteran's service records do not contain any complaints or diagnoses related to his claimed knee and heel conditions.
The deciding factor: There is no medical evidence in the service treatment records indicating that the Veteran experienced knee or heel pain during his active duty. The available post-service medical records also lack relevant documentation of these conditions until many years after separation from military service.,The VA examinations and private opinions have not provided sufficient rationale to support a finding against the Veteran's claims for service connection, particularly given the absence of contemporaneous evidence.
- Claimed conditions
- {"condition_name":"Left Knee Pain","diagnosis":"Degenerative Joint Disease (DJD)"}, {"condition_name":"Right Knee Pain","diagnosis":"Degenerative Joint Disease (DJD)"}, {"condition_name":"Left Heel Pain","diagnosis":"Plantar Fasciitis"}, {"condition_name":"Right Heel Pain","diagnosis":"Plantar Fasciitis"}, {"condition_name":"Neck Pain","diagnosis":null}, {"condition_name":"Left Shoulder Pain","diagnosis":null}, {"condition_name":"Right Shoulder Pain","diagnosis":null}
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 13, 2019
- Citation
- 19145606
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
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