The Veteran's claims for higher ratings on his service-connected lumbar spine, adjustment disorder, and bilateral knee disabilities are remanded due to the need for new examinations.
The deciding factor: New examinations are needed as the Veteran has asserted that his disabilities have increased in severity since his last VA examinations in 2016.
- Claimed conditions
- herniated lumbar disc, adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood, postoperative residuals, left knee arthroscopy and debridement with arthritis, right knee post-operative residuals, medial meniscectomy with arthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 2, 2020
- Citation
- 20000113
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted earlier effective dates for TDIU and DEA, but denied increased ratings for various service-connected conditions.
- Denied
The Board denied an earlier effective date and a higher initial rating for the service-connected adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood, finding that the earliest possible effective date had been assigned.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood secondary to the Veteran's service-connected right and left knee, ankle, and leg disabilities.
- Partly granted
The Board granted restoration of a 50% disability rating for the Veteran's service-connected adjustment disorder, denied an initial rating in excess of 70 percent for PTSD, and granted TDIU from May 20, 2023.
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