The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for higher evaluations for his bilateral knee disabilities due to missing imaging reports and a need for a new VA examination. The examinations are needed to confirm the Veteran's reports of having undergone total knee replacement arthroplasty surgeries on both knees, test range-of-motion findings, and assess any functional limitations.
The deciding factor: The Board found that there were missing imaging reports and a need for a new VA examination due to previous examinations not complying with Correia v. McDonald requirements.
- Claimed conditions
- right knee chondromalacia, left knee chondromalacia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 15, 2019
- Citation
- 19162880
Veterans Law Judge
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 19162880.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for earlier effective dates and compensable ratings for left knee tendonitis and right knee chondromalacia have been dismissed as he withdrew his appeal in January 2025.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has granted service connection for right ear hearing loss and has remanded the claims for hypertension, left knee disability, and right knee disability due to duty to assist errors.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for lumbar spine degenerative disc disease, left knee chondromalacia, and right knee chondromalacia, finding that the Veteran's conditions are etiologically related to injuries sustained in service from parachute jumps.
- Denied
The Veteran's appeal for a higher rating for left knee chondromalacia with instability, status post total knee replacement was denied. A separate rating of 10 percent for painful left knee scar was granted.
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