The Veteran's low back condition is rated at 40 percent, and the Board has remanded his claims for left knee and right leg conditions due to insufficient evidence.
The deciding factor: The medical records do not provide sufficient evidence to establish a direct service connection for the left knee and right leg conditions based on the claimed in-service injury. The Veteran's current disabilities are more likely related to other factors, such as MDS and radiculopathy of the upper extremities.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative arthritis with degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, Left knee condition, Right leg condition, Myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) to include essential thrombocythemia (ET)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 40%
- Decision date
- November 5, 2019
- Citation
- 19183636
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,592 · Granted: 19% (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 19183636.
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 Board dismissed the Veteran's appeals for higher disability ratings in excess of 20 percent for cervical spine and lumbar spine conditions, left knee condition, right knee condition, and sinusitis. The Veteran was granted service connection for chronic laryngeal papillomatosis.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), a bowel condition, and a bladder condition. The Board found no evidence of a current disability for these conditions and concluded that any relationship to service is not supported by the medical evidence.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew his appeals for service connection of left shoulder, left sinus tarsi syndrome disorder, right sinus tarsi syndrome disorder, left ankle condition and right ankle condition.,Service connection was granted for restrictive lung disease, lumbosacral strain condition, left knee condition, right knee condition, bilateral metatarsalgia condition and bilateral plantar fasciitis condition.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for bilateral knee disabilities, finding that the Veteran's current knee pain is due to her service-connected left ankle disability and results in functional impairment of earning capacity.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.