The Veteran's appeal is remanded for further examination and opinion regarding his tinnitus, lumbar spine condition, right knee condition, left ankle sprain, and dermatitis. The Board will consider the evidence in light of the applicable rating criteria.
The deciding factor: The current VA opinions are inadequate as they do not address the Veteran's contentions or provide a rationale for their conclusions.
- Claimed conditions
- Hammer toe of left little toe, Degenerative arthritis of lumbar spine (claimed as lumbar strain), Right knee condition, Left ankle sprain, Dermatitis, pseudofolliculitis barbae
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 17, 2020
- Citation
- 20026796
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 20026796.
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 Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's right knee condition as secondary to his service-connected right ankle condition.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the Veteran's appeals for higher disability ratings in excess of 20 percent for cervical spine and lumbar spine conditions, left knee condition, right knee condition, and sinusitis. The Veteran was granted service connection for chronic laryngeal papillomatosis.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that new and relevant evidence has been received to readjudicate the claim of entitlement to service connection for right knee condition. The AOJ is therefore remanding this case.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for psychiatric disorder, right shoulder condition, and right knee condition due to duty-to-assist errors.
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