The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection and increased rating for various disabilities, including lumbar strain with degenerative disc disease secondary to bilateral knee disability. The Veteran is seeking a determination on whether his lumbar strain with DDD is proximately due to or aggravated by his service-connected bilateral knee disability.
The deciding factor: The Board has determined that the September 2011 VA medical opinion relied upon in denying the Veteran's claim for secondary service connection was deficient and remanded for an addendum opinion considering the arguments raised in the Joint Motion for Partial Remand (JMPR).
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar strain with degenerative disc disease (DDD), right shoulder impingement syndrome, right ankle laxity, right hip bursitis, renal disease, right knee patellofemoral syndrome, left knee patellofemoral syndrome
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 21, 2019
- Citation
- 19188088
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 19188088.
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 Board remands the claims for a higher rating in excess of the current ratings for various musculoskeletal conditions.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for right and left hip bursitis as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected bilateral pes cavus, but denied an increased rating in excess of 10 percent for degenerative arthritis of the spine with lower back strain.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for right hip bursitis, left knee strain, TBI, and PTSD.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected headaches were granted a rating of 50 percent, and she was also granted TDIU, DEA, and SMC for the period from March 27, 2017, to August 20, 2017.
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