The Veteran's claim for service connection for degenerative changes, right knee was denied in April 2002. The Board has now remanded the case due to new evidence submitted by the Veteran.
The deciding factor: New evidence received since the previous denial indicates a possible link between the Veteran's arthritis of his hand and his knee, raising a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim.
- Claimed conditions
- degenerative changes, right knee, arthritis of the right hand/wrist
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 16, 2020
- Citation
- 20004137
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,677 · Granted: 26% (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 20004137.
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 Board denied the veteran's claims for a disability rating higher than 70% for PTSD and for TDIU due to service-connected disabilities.
- Partly granted
The Board has dismissed the appeals for entitlement to a disability evaluation in excess of 20 percent for residuals of right femur fracture and entitlement to a disability evaluation in excess of 50 percent for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The appeal for an initial disability evaluation in excess of 10 percent for osteoarthritis of left knee is REMANDED.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand several issues related to the Veteran's knees, including a reduction in disability rating for left knee ACL reconstruction and increased ratings for osteoarthritis of the left knee and degenerative changes of the right knee. The remand is due to the need for further development regarding the Veteran's lay statements about intermittent instability in his left knee.
- Granted
The Veteran was unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation due to his service-connected disabilities, which rendered him unemployable. His TDIU claim for substitution purposes is granted.
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