The Veteran's low back disability is remanded for further examination and opinion regarding the cause of his condition. The right knee instability, bilateral knee disabilities, left knee impairment with traumatic arthritis and degenerative arthritis (limitation of flexion), and right knee impairment with traumatic arthritis and degenerative arthritis (limitation of flexion) are also remanded. Bilateral hearing loss is remanded for a new VA examination.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's low back disability may be due to the carelessness, negligence, lack of proper skill, error in judgment, or other instance fault in multiple surgical operations to his back, including medical equipment left in his spine by VA. The right knee instability, bilateral knee disabilities, left knee impairment with traumatic arthritis and degenerative arthritis (limitation of flexion), and right knee impairment with traumatic arthritis and degenerative arthritis (limitation of flexion) are also remanded as the Veteran's symptoms have worsened since his last examination.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disc disease of the low back (low back disability), Right knee instability, Left knee degenerative arthritis with internal derangement (limitation of extension), Left knee instability, Left knee impairment with traumatic arthritis and degenerative arthritis (limitation of flexion), Right knee impairment with traumatic arthritis and degenerative arthritis (limitation of flexion)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 30, 2020
- Citation
- 20007923
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,446 · Granted: 21% (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 20007923.
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's right knee disability, including limitation of extension and flexion, instability, and meniscus condition, is now rated at 20 percent effective March 7, 2020.
- Granted
The Veteran's right knee disability, including limitation of extension and flexion, instability, and meniscus condition, is now rated at 20 percent effective March 7, 2020.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to an inadequate medical opinion regarding the aggravation of a preexisting right knee condition during service. The Veteran's right knee condition was noted prior to service, and the VA examiner concluded it did not worsen beyond its natural progression.
- Granted
The Board has granted effective dates of June 17, 2010 for service connection and separate ratings for right knee instability and left knee instability.
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