The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for lumbar spine sprain with degenerative arthritis and left knee patellar tendonitis with degenerative arthritis due to incomplete development of medical opinions addressing potential ameliorative effects of medications.
The deciding factor: The Joint Motion for Remand instructed the Board to address the potential ameliorative effects of the Veteran's medications on his symptoms, which was not done in the previous decision.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar spine sprain with degenerative arthritis, left knee patellar tendonitis with degenerative arthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 7, 2020
- Citation
- 20001067
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 20001067.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for a rating in excess of 20 percent for her lumbar para spinal muscle spasms (spinal condition) is denied.,The Veteran's claim for a compensable rating for left knee limitation of extension is denied.,The Veteran's claim for a rating in excess of 10 percent for symptomatic patellar tendonitis of the left knee with degenerative arthritis is denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for additional development due to issues related to the potential ameliorative effects of his medications on his lumbar spine sprain with degenerative arthritis and left knee patellar tendonitis with degenerative arthritis.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
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