The Board has remanded the claims for hypertension, chronic low back condition, and left knee disability due to inadequate examination reports. The Veteran's service treatment records show hypertension during service but no formal diagnosis was made. Post-service records indicate current diagnoses of hypertension, chronic low back condition, and left knee disability. The examiner is requested to provide an opinion on the relationship between these conditions and service.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the examination reports were inadequate for rating purposes due to lack of clarity regarding self-treatment for hypertension and insufficient consideration of the Veteran's reported history of twisting his back and knee during service.
- Claimed conditions
- Hypertension, Chronic low back condition, Left knee disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 26, 2020
- Citation
- 20069211
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 granted service connection for chronic headaches, CFS, dermatosis, bilateral RLS, a lumbar spine disability, and sleep apnea but denied a compensable evaluation for allergic rhinitis.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for diabetes mellitus type II and hypertension, to include as secondary to left orchiectomy, for further development in accordance with the PACT Act.
- Partly granted
The Board granted readjudication of previously denied claims for service connection for PTSD and COPD, while remanding other issues including entitlement to service connection for an eye disorder, hypertension, tinnitus, a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss, TDIU, and an initial rating for PTSD.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various disabilities and denied higher ratings for several service-connected conditions.
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