The Veteran's lumbosacral strain, right knee patellofemoral syndrome, and left knee patellofemoral syndrome are rated at 10 percent. The Board has determined that further VA examinations of the Veteran’s lumbar spine and right and left knee disabilities are needed to determine their current severity.
The deciding factor: The VA examination reports were inadequate under DeLuca v. Brown, 8 Vet. App. 202 (1995) and Sharp v. Shulkin, 29 Vet. App. 26 (2017), as they did not address whether the range of motion testing was conducted on active or passive motion and weight-bearing or nonweight-bearing.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbosacral strain, right knee patellofemoral syndrome, left knee patellofemoral syndrome
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 26, 2020
- Citation
- 20014973
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 20014973.
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 claim for service connection of a left knee disability, finding that it is not proximately due to or aggravated by his service-connected back and sciatica disabilities. The evidence did not support a nexus between the Veteran's current condition and his military service.
- Granted
The Veteran's service connection claims for lumbosacral strain, asthma, melasma and hydradenitis, hypertension, an acquired psychiatric disorder (claimed as depression, anxiety, and stress), left shoulder disorder, right shoulder disorder, left knee disorder, a left foot disorder, and IBS have been granted. The remaining issues are remanded.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew their appeal for service connection of a lumbosacral strain, resulting in the dismissal of this issue.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's lumbosacral strain with degenerative arthritis, finding that it is related to his in-service injury. The claimant did not contest this decision.
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