The Board has remanded the claims for a low back condition, right knee conditions, and left knee conditions due to inadequate reasoning in the August 2016 VA examination. The case is returned to secure an addendum opinion that addresses whether the claimed conditions preexisted service or were aggravated by service.
The deciding factor: The Board found the August 2016 VA examination inadequate for deciding the claims and remanded due to unresolved issues regarding the etiology of the low back condition, including its preexistence in service and any aggravation during service.
- Claimed conditions
- low back condition, right knee condition, left knee condition
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 6, 2020
- Citation
- 20064861
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,548 · Granted: 31% (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 20064861.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal was dismissed due to their death during the pendency of the appeal.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection of his low back condition, finding that it is related to his military service.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew their appeal regarding the service connection for a lumbar condition and left knee condition, resulting in the dismissal of these issues.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a neck condition and a low back condition, finding that the Veteran's current diagnoses are related to his military service.
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