The Board has determined that the Veteran's knee disabilities require additional examination and records to determine their current severity, as well as SSA disability benefits records. The issues of higher initial ratings for his knee disabilities and TDIU are remanded.
The deciding factor: The VA examinations conducted in November 2014 were inadequate due to lack of range of motion measurements during flare-ups and the Veteran's report of increased pain following exercise. Additionally, there is a need to obtain SSA disability benefits records and any relevant VA treatment records.
- Claimed conditions
- right knee medial meniscal tear with osteoarthritis, left knee medial meniscus tear with osteoarthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 11, 2020
- Citation
- 20011497
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 20011497.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted earlier effective dates for left and right knee instability, but denied increased ratings for the meniscal tears.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for left knee and right knee disabilities as the evidence did not establish a nexus to service.
- Denied
The Board found that the Veteran's current left knee disability is not related to his active service and denied his claim for service connection.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
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