The Board has remanded the Veteran's claim for eligibility for financial assistance in the purchase of one automobile or other conveyance and/or automobile adaptive equipment due to issues related to his service-connected disabilities, including right knee disability, lumbosacral radiculitis, and bilateral high frequency sensorineural hearing loss. The decision is pending further development.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran's service-connected disabilities alone do not result in ankylosis of one or both knees and hips, but did not provide a clear rationale for this determination.
- Claimed conditions
- right knee total arthroplasty, lumbosacral radiculitis and subluxation, radiculopathy involvement of L2/L3/L4 nerve roots (femoral nerve), bilateral high frequency sensorineural hearing loss, amputation of distal phalanx, right 5th digit with scar
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 16, 2020
- Citation
- 20004215
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.
- Granted
The Veteran is granted an additional month of a total disability rating for his right knee, concluding on November 1, 2024.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for a rating in excess of 30 percent for right and left knee total arthroplasty to obtain additional medical evidence regarding the severity of the Veteran's knee disabilities without considering the ameliorative effects of pain medication.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's appeal for an earlier effective date for the grant of an increased 40 percent rating for right knee degenerative arthritis with limitation of extension, as well as other related claims.
- Denied
The Board denied increased ratings for hypertension, right knee total arthroplasty, and disorder of the sacrum based on the evidence showing that the Veteran's conditions did not meet the criteria for higher ratings.
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