The Board has remanded the cases for additional development, including obtaining federal employee disability retirement records from OPM.
The deciding factor: The decision was remanded due to the lack of disability determination records from OPM in the claims file.
- Claimed conditions
- Right total knee replacement, Left knee arthroscopic lateral meniscectomy with patellofemoral osteoarthritic changes
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 22, 2020
- Citation
- 20068385
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.
- Partly granted
The Board denied increased ratings for lumbar strain, right knee scar, and degenerative arthritis of the left knee. However, a 60 percent evaluation was granted for the right total knee replacement effective July 24, 2018.
- Partly granted
The Board denied increased ratings for the veteran's left shoulder and knee conditions, but granted a 60 percent rating for his right total knee replacement. The Board also denied entitlement to TDIU.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issues of entitlement to increased ratings for bilateral knee disabilities, including instability, and a TDIU due to an inadequate examination.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's service-connected right knee disability was reclassified as a right total knee replacement associated with traumatic arthritis, and he was assigned a 30 percent evaluation effective January 4, 2006. The criteria for higher ratings were not met.
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