The Board has granted service connection for left knee degenerative joint disease. The issues of service connection for left and right ankle disabilities are remanded due to insufficient evidence.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner did not address the Veteran's statements regarding continuity of symptoms or his relevant VA medical records, which could affect the determination of whether the current disability is related to service.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative joint disease of the left knee, Arthritis of the left ankle, Arthritis of the right ankle
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 8, 2020
- Citation
- 20045618
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 20045618.
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 Veteran's right and left knee braces caused wear and tear to his clothing in the year of 2021, leading to a decision granting annual clothing allowances for both knee braces.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for increased ratings due to inconsistencies in the January 2022 VA examination reports and a need for clarification regarding the Veteran's intent when filing his Notice of Disagreement. The AOJ is directed to schedule new examinations, obtain retrospective medical opinions, and clarify the severity of the Veteran's disabilities during the relevant period on appeal.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for eligibility for specially adapted housing and special home adaptation grant was denied as he does not meet the criteria for a qualifying total service-connected disability rating or loss of use of lower extremities.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for arthritis of the lumbar spine, right ankle, left ankle, and left foot on a presumptive basis due to continuous symptoms since service separation.
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