The Board has remanded the cases for further examination and evaluation due to inadequate range of motion assessments during flare-ups, as well as discrepancies in the number of left knee surgical scars.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner was unable to provide an adequate explanation regarding the Veteran's functional loss due to flare-ups without resorting to speculation.
- Claimed conditions
- left knee chondromalacia, right knee chondromalacia, left knee surgical scar
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 17, 2019
- Citation
- 19179352
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 withdrew his appeal for higher ratings of his left and right knee conditions, and the Board has no jurisdiction to review these issues.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for a higher initial rating for left knee limitation of extension and an increased rating for left knee chondromalacia.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for a compensable rating for their left knee surgical scar, as the evidence did not support an area of 144 square inches or greater and there was no indication of instability or pain.
- Dismissed
The proposed reductions of the veteran's right and left knee chondromalacia ratings were dismissed as there was no final rating action taken, and the disabilities remained rated at 40 percent during the applicable period.
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