The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims of service connection for bilateral knee disorder and bilateral ankle gout due to insufficient rationale in a previous VA opinion. The case is sent back for further development, including obtaining an addendum opinion from an appropriate VA examiner.
The deciding factor: The prior VA opinion did not provide sufficient rationale regarding whether any current disability arose during service or was related to service.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral knee disorder, bilateral ankle gout
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 16, 2020
- Citation
- 20067350
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for a low back disorder with radiculopathy of the lower extremities and bilateral hip and knee disorders due to the need for VA examinations.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for lumbar spine, bilateral knee, hip, shoulder, and ankle disorders as they are not shown to be causally or etiologically related to any disease, injury, or incident during service.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for a left ankle disorder, bilateral knee disorder, scars, and left shoulder disorder as there was no evidence of current disabilities during or related to active service.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew the appeals seeking to reopen service connection claims for PTSD, bilateral knee, and back disorders on the basis of new and relevant evidence.
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