The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for right knee meniscal tear with scar and for an initial rating in excess of 20 percent for right knee instability due to lack of substantial compliance with a prior remand order.
The deciding factor: The VA examination report did not contain the requested retrospective opinion regarding the severity and manifestations of the Veteran's right knee disability from the date of the March 2015 VA examination to the September 2019 VA examination.
- Claimed conditions
- right knee meniscal tear, right knee instability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 9, 2020
- Citation
- 20001550
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 Board dismissed the appeal for service connection for bilateral knee instability and denied service connection for right and left knee instability, finding no nexus between the Veteran's knee conditions and his service or service-connected disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issues of entitlement to increased ratings for a thoracolumbar spine disorder and bilateral knee disorders due to the need for additional VA examinations.
- Partly granted
The Board denied an increased rating for right knee strain and instability but granted a separate 10 percent rating for right knee limitation of extension from November 25, 2024.
- Partly granted
The Board denied a disability rating in excess of 10 percent for right knee meniscal tear with degenerative arthritis and granted a separate 20 percent rating for right knee instability.
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