The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection of his left ankle, right and left knee disabilities as well as a rating in excess of 20 percent for his low back disability due to potential secondary etiologies. The appeals are now pending with the AOJ.
The deciding factor: Secondary service connection is being considered based on the Veteran's reported history of injuries and atrophy related to his service-connected disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- {"condition_name":"Left ankle disability","diagnosis":null,"likely_etiology":"Incurred in service, including due to an injury therein, or caused by left lumbar radiculopathy (and related muscle atrophy)"}, {"condition_name":"Right knee disability","diagnosis":null,"likely_etiology":"Caused or aggravated by the Veteran’s left ankle disability, low back disability, or bilateral radiculopathy"}, {"condition_name":"Left knee disability","diagnosis":null,"likely_etiology":"Caused or aggravated by service-connected low back disability and bilateral radiculopathy with left lower extremity atrophy (or any left ankle disability)"}
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 14, 2020
- Citation
- 20002914
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 service connection for right lower extremity sciatica associated with the Veteran's service-connected lumbosacral spine strain, but remanded claims for service connection for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and sleep apnea.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that his lung cancer was related to his service-connected melanoma.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for anxiety but denied it for sleep apnea, finding that the Veteran's sleep apnea was less likely than not related to his active service or service-connected acquired psychiatric condition.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for migraine headaches as proximately due to the Veteran's service-connected tinnitus.
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