The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for a right knee disorder and a back disorder, as these conditions are alleged to be secondary to his service-connected left knee and/or left ankle disabilities.,Further examination is needed to determine if there is any link between the Veteran's current right knee and back disorders and his service-connected left knee and/or left ankle disabilities.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence does not provide sufficient information to determine whether the Veteran's currently diagnosed right knee disorder and back disorder are secondary to his service-connected left knee and/or left ankle disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- Left ankle disability, Right knee disorder, Back disorder
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 3, 2020
- Citation
- 20000367
Veterans Law Judge
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 20000367.
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 Board has granted the appellant's claim for service connection for left ankle disability residuals, finding that his current condition is due to an in-service injury and granting the benefit of the doubt.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's claims for service connection have been dismissed due to their death.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection and TDIU due to duty to assist errors that occurred prior to the rating decision on appeal. The Veteran's right knee disorder is being remanded for an addendum opinion regarding its etiology.
- Granted
The Veteran's left ankle disability and headache disorder secondary to PTSD with alcohol use disorder have been granted increased ratings, effective September 16, 2018.
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