The Board has remanded two issues: service connection for residuals of the left knee and service connection for arthritis of the right knee as secondary to residuals of the left knee. The decision is based on insufficient medical opinions regarding the preexisting nature of the Veteran's knee conditions.
The deciding factor: The medical opinion provided by the VA examiner did not sufficiently address whether there was clear and unmistakable evidence to rebut the second prong of the presumption of soundness (presumption of aggravation) and whether the current degenerative joint disease is a separate disability from the preexisting left knee chondromalacia with atrophy.
- Claimed conditions
- residuals of the left knee (arthritis), arthritis of the right knee
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 23, 2020
- Citation
- 20005109
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for arthritis of the left knee and right knee to ensure compliance with a Joint Motion for Partial Remand from the Court.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including residuals of a head injury, bilateral hearing loss, neck disability, gout of the right ankle, unspecified trauma or stress related disorder, tinnitus, and other musculoskeletal issues.
- Dismissed
The veteran withdrew all pending appeals, and the Board has no jurisdiction to review these issues.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for sleep apnea syndromes, arthritis of the left knee as secondary to degenerative changes in the bilateral ankles, and arthritis of the right knee as secondary to degenerative changes in the bilateral ankles. The claims for earlier effective dates and increased ratings were denied.
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