The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for degenerative joint disease of both knees due to a lack of clear and unmistakable evidence showing that any pre-existing knee condition was aggravated by military service.
The deciding factor: The Board found that there is no clear and unmistakable evidence showing that the Veteran’s pre-existing Osgood-Schlatter disease was permanently worsened beyond normal progression by his military service.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative Joint Disease (DJD) of the right knee, Degenerative Joint Disease (DJD) of the left knee
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 6, 2019
- Citation
- 19160685
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 19160685.
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 granted an initial 30 percent rating for the Veteran's service-connected DJD of the left knee and left knee lateral instability, from December 15, 2009, to September 5, 2014.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matter to obtain a new VA medical opinion regarding the severity of the left knee DJD without the ameliorative effects of medication during the limited appeal period.
- Partly granted
The Board denied increased ratings for DJD and instability of both knees but granted separate 20 percent ratings for dislocated semilunar cartilage in the left and right knees.
- Denied
The Veteran's appeal for a higher rating for his lumbosacral spine disability and TDIU prior to April 25, 2017 was denied. The Board found that the evidence did not show he was unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment due to service-connected disabilities.
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