The Board has decided to remand the claims for further development due to the Veteran's failure to appear for an examination, and to obtain a medical opinion regarding the etiology of his claimed disabilities.
The deciding factor: The Veteran failed to cooperate with VA examinations, leading to the need for additional development including obtaining a medical opinion on the etiology of the claimed disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- Right Hip Degenerative Joint Disease (DJD), Right Knee DJD, Right Lower Extremity Radiculopathy, Right Foot Manifested by Pain
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 5, 2020
- Citation
- 20071605
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,699 · Granted: 17% (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 20071605.
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 has decided to remand the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the relationship between the Veteran's right hip disability and their military service. A VA examination is needed to determine if there is a connection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for higher ratings for right and left lower extremity radiculopathy are being remanded due to the need for a new VA examination to assess the current severity of his condition, without considering the ameliorative effects of any medication he uses.
- Granted
The Veteran's bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy has been granted a 30 percent disability rating since November 29, 2021.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's erectile dysfunction is likely due to his service-connected lumbar spine and radiculopathy conditions, with tramadol use possibly causing the condition by October 25, 2012. The effective date for ED will be remanded.,Due to the inextricably intertwined nature of the issues, including the need to determine if tramadol caused ED prior to August 30, 2013, the SMC issue is also remanded.
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