The Veteran's service-connected right knee injury is causing or aggravating his left and right hip conditions. The claims for service connection are being remanded to obtain updated medical opinions regarding the nature, extent, and severity of these conditions.
The deciding factor: The current evidence does not provide sufficient information on whether the Veteran’s hip conditions are secondary to his knee injuries.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative Joint Disease (DJD) of the lumbosacral spine, Left hip condition, Right hip condition
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 3, 2019
- Citation
- 19167923
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 19167923.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for right knee degenerative arthritis based on limitation of motion was denied. A separate 20 percent rating for a right knee meniscus tear is granted. The claims for service connection for left hip condition and right foot gout are dismissed.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a low back condition as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected right hip condition, finding that the Veteran's back pain is aggravated by his right hip surgery.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for service connection for back and left hip conditions due to inadequate opinions regarding secondary service connection.
- Dismissed
The appeal for a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss is dismissed. The claim for a temporary total evaluation based on spinal fusion surgery of the L4-S1 vertebrae is granted. The issue of a rating in excess of 10 percent for DJD, lumbosacral spine with S/P spine fusion of L4-S1, is remanded.
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