The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and TDIU are being remanded due to the need for additional development, including obtaining VA treatment records, updated work history information, and tax returns. A new VA examination is also required.
The deciding factor: The decision was not explicitly based on service connection theory or exposure basis, but rather on the need for a comprehensive evaluation of the Veteran's right knee condition to determine appropriate ratings.
- Claimed conditions
- right knee patellofemoral syndrome with meniscal tear
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 23, 2020
- Citation
- 20068778
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 3,038 · Granted: 30% (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 20068778.
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 increased ratings for right knee patellofemoral syndrome and right hip tendinopathy (limitation of extension) to obtain a VA opinion regarding the severity of these conditions, specifically addressing any ameliorative effects of medication.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and TDIU prior to October 2, 2015 are being remanded due to the need for additional records and clarification of employment status.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
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