The Veteran’s claims for service connection are remanded due to incomplete medical records and need for additional examinations.,The Veteran has multiple conditions related to her active duty service, including right hip disability, dry eye syndrome, Bell's palsy, left and right foot/heel disabilities (including Achilles tendinopathy), which may be related to her service-connected bilateral knee disabilities.
The deciding factor: Incomplete medical records and need for additional examinations are required to properly evaluate the Veteran’s claims.
- Claimed conditions
- Left Knee Instability, Left Knee Degenerative Joint Disease, Status Post Total Left Knee Replacement, Right Hip Disability, Dry Eye Syndrome, Bell's Palsy on Right Side of Face, Left Foot/Heel Disability (Achilles Tendinopathy), Right Foot/Heel Disability (Achilles Tendinopathy)
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 14, 2020
- Citation
- 20002949
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,977 · Granted: 27% (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 20002949.
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 service-connected knee disabilities have been rated and denied for increased ratings, with some conditions receiving specific disability ratings. The Veteran is granted a 60% rating for her total right knee replacement from September 4, 2015 onwards, but the other claims are denied.
- Denied
The Board has denied service connection for the claimed conditions as there is no persuasive evidence of current diagnoses or in-service incurrence or aggravation.
- Denied
The Board denied an increased rating for the Veteran's right hip disability, finding that her current 10 percent rating adequately reflects her symptoms and limitations.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has granted an earlier effective date of December 12, 2017 for the award of service connection for dry eye syndrome. The issue of entitlement to an initial compensable rating for dry eye syndrome is remanded.
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