The Board has denied service connection for right knee and left knee conditions, as well as a compensable rating for residuals of fracture to the left 4th digit. The Veteran's claim for PTSD is unclear, and he must provide clarity on whether he wishes to pursue this claim or if it should be considered unrelated to his insomnia. The Board has also remanded for clarification regarding an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for insomnia.
The deciding factor: The evidence does not support service connection for the Veteran's right knee and left knee conditions, as there is no medical record showing a nexus between these conditions and active service. For the compensable rating claim, additional examination is needed to determine the severity of the Veteran's left ring finger disability. The PTSD claim remains unclear due to the Veteran's statements regarding his insomnia.
- Claimed conditions
- Right knee condition, Left knee condition
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 1, 2019
- Citation
- 19150968
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 3,038 · Granted: 30% (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 19150968.
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.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's right knee condition as secondary to his service-connected right ankle condition.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the Veteran's appeals for higher disability ratings in excess of 20 percent for cervical spine and lumbar spine conditions, left knee condition, right knee condition, and sinusitis. The Veteran was granted service connection for chronic laryngeal papillomatosis.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that new and relevant evidence has been received to readjudicate the claim of entitlement to service connection for right knee condition. The AOJ is therefore remanding this case.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for psychiatric disorder, right shoulder condition, and right knee condition due to duty-to-assist errors.
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