The Veteran's claims for increased disability evaluations for osteoarthritis of the right knee with medial meniscal tear, instability of the left knee, and arthritis of the lumbosacral spine are being remanded due to inadequate pre-decisional duty to assist.
The deciding factor: The VA examinations in connection with these claims were not adequate as they did not include range of motion testing for active, passive, weight-bearing, and nonweight-bearing motions. The Board finds that the RO failed in its pre-decisional duty to assist by not obtaining new VA examinations prior to the decision.
- Claimed conditions
- osteoarthritis of the right knee with medial meniscal tear, instability, residuals of left knee arthroscopy, arthritis of the lumbosacral spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 22, 2020
- Citation
- A20015872
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,092 · Granted: 42% (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 A20015872.
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
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