The Board has decided to remand the claims for left knee disability and GI disability due to incomplete compliance with previous directives. The Veteran's service records indicate she may have injured her knee during basic training, but STRs from that period are unavailable. For the GI issue, there is conflicting evidence regarding whether GERD was diagnosed in-service or post-service.
The deciding factor: The Board found insufficient evidence to determine if the current left knee conditions were incurred in service and remanded for a medical opinion on this point. The GI claim requires an addendum opinion addressing whether any diagnosed conditions are related to service, including as aggravated by service-connected hypothyroidism.
- Claimed conditions
- GI disability, left knee disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 20, 2019
- Citation
- 19164550
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,084 · Granted: 20% (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 19164550.
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 Veteran's appeal is remanded for additional development, including a new VA examination to assess his bilateral knee and hip disabilities.
- Partly granted
The Board has not made a final determination on the claims of service connection for inguinal hernia, PTSD, joint pain, fibromyalgia, left knee disability, right knee disability, tinnitus, chronic fatigue syndrome, respiratory disability, sleep disorder, IBS, and headaches. The claims are remanded to obtain additional evidence and determine if these conditions are related to service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient rationale in the July 2012 VA examination for the Veteran's left knee disability, and a new addendum opinion is needed.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the Veteran's claims for service connection for left knee disability, right knee disability, lumbar spine disability, and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) as these issues have been addressed in a separate docket.
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