The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to insufficient medical opinions and need for additional evidence. The Veteran's right knee and left knee conditions are being reviewed, as well as his acquired psychiatric disorder.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner’s opinion is inadequate because it relies solely on the absence of service treatment records without considering the Veteran's lay statements about knee pain during service.
- Claimed conditions
- right knee degenerative joint disease, left knee DJD, status post total knee replacement
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 2, 2020
- Citation
- 20000154
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,170 · Granted: 38% (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 20000154.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for right knee degenerative joint disease, including secondary to a service-connected left knee disability, is granted. The condition was not related to military service and no aggravation by the service-connected left knee disability could be established.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals were withdrawn, and his claims for increased ratings and service connection were dismissed. The Board found no evidence of ankylosis or other disabling conditions that would warrant higher ratings.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's right knee degenerative arthritis, finding that his current condition is due to wear and tear from military service. The decision also grants service connection for any related joint pain.
- Granted
The Veteran's claims for service connection for left shoulder, left arm, and right knee disabilities have been granted due to new evidence presented. The cases are being remanded for further examination and rating.
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