The Board has granted a 20% rating for left knee instability effective January 2, 2013. The application to reopen the claim for service connection for right knee disability is remanded due to new and material evidence being received. Other claims are also remanded for additional development.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran's allegations of knee instability were more probative than clinical findings from VA examinations, leading to a change in effective date. The application to reopen was granted based on new evidence relating to the right knee disability. Other claims require further examination and clarification of medical opinions.
- Claimed conditions
- left knee instability, right knee disability (status post-patellectomy), lumbosacral strain, polyneuropathy of the left lower extremity, polyneuropathy of the right lower extremity, left hip disability, right hip disability, atrophy of the left thigh and calf
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 12, 2019
- Citation
- 19192802
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,911 · Granted: 10% (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 19192802.
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's appeals were dismissed due to the death of the appellant. The issues related to service connection for various conditions and disability ratings.
- Granted
The Veteran's service connection claims for lumbosacral strain, asthma, melasma and hydradenitis, hypertension, an acquired psychiatric disorder (claimed as depression, anxiety, and stress), left shoulder disorder, right shoulder disorder, left knee disorder, a left foot disorder, and IBS have been granted. The remaining issues are remanded.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for left and right hip disabilities due to inadequate VA medical opinions. The Veteran will need an adequate VA medical opinion to determine if his hip disabilities are related to service.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew their appeal for service connection of a lumbosacral strain, resulting in the dismissal of this issue.
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