The Board has granted service connection for right knee arthritis. The case is remanded to determine if the Veteran's nephrolithiasis and renal failure are secondary to his service-connected lumbar disability.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner did not adequately address whether the Veteran’s kidney disorder was aggravated by his service-connected lumbar disability, as required by law.
- Claimed conditions
- right knee arthritis, nephrolithiasis (kidney stones), renal failure
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 21, 2020
- Citation
- A20015815
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 service connection for somatic symptom disorder, respiratory disorders (including COPD), nephrolithiasis, deviated nasal septum, and higher initial disability ratings for PTSD with unspecified depressive disorder with anxious distress and GERD, hiatal hernia, reflux esophagitis, Barrett's esophagus.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a VA medical opinion to determine if the Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including medications taken therefor, were a substantial or contributing factor in his death.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection, finding that the evidence did not support higher ratings or service connection for the claimed conditions.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 10 percent initial rating for kidney stones and denied service connection for chronic kidney disease.
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This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.