The Board has remanded the claims for higher initial ratings for bilateral knee patellofemoral pain syndrome with degenerative changes, right and left knee lateral instability, as well as TDIU due to inadequate VA examination findings.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner failed to provide adequate information regarding the frequency, duration, characteristics, severity, or functional loss of flare-ups, which is necessary for evaluating the Veteran's disability under the rating criteria.
- Claimed conditions
- patellofemoral pain syndrome of the right knee with degenerative changes, right knee lateral instability, left knee patellofemoral pain syndrome with degenerative changes, left knee lateral instability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 6, 2020
- Citation
- 20071844
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 a separate 20 percent rating for right knee lateral instability but denied a rating in excess of 30 percent for right knee functional ankylosis.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a separate initial 20 percent evaluation for left knee disability and a separate 10 percent evaluation for right knee lateral instability from January 15, 2019, and also granted TDIU and SMC based on the need for aid and attendance.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder (other than PTSD), to include unspecified anxiety disorder, and assigned ratings of 40 percent, but no higher, for lumbar spine L5 spondylolysis without spondylolisthesis, and separate ratings of 10 percent each for left lower extremity radiculopathy, right lower extremity radiculopathy, left knee strain with effusion, right knee strain with effusion and status post anterior tibial tubercle avulsion fracture, left knee lateral instability, and right knee lateral instability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matters of entitlement to increased ratings for left knee conditions due to a need for an opinion that addresses the ameliorative effects of the Veteran's medications on her left knee disability throughout the appeal period.
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