The Board has decided that the VA did not obtain all of the Veteran's service treatment records from Walter Reed and Ft. Meade, which were needed to make a decision on his claim for left knee replacement service connection. The case is being sent back to the agency of original jurisdiction (AOJ) to try again.
The deciding factor: The AOJ failed to conduct reasonable efforts to obtain the Veteran's missing service treatment records from Walter Reed and Ft. Meade, as required by law.
- Claimed conditions
- left knee replacement
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 6, 2020
- Citation
- 20071892
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,676 · Granted: 24% (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 20071892.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran was eligible for beneficiary travel benefits to attend a VA medical appointment on March 16, 2021 due to his service-connected conditions. The Board found that the nearest available clinic provided the required care and that the Veteran's statements were credible and consistent with the evidence.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the Veteran's appeal because it was not timely filed, and no good cause for delay was provided.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has found that additional development is needed and the case is being remanded for issuance of a new supplemental statement of the case (SSOC). Relevant private and VA treatment records have been added to the claim file, necessitating this action.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to non-compliance with previous remand directives and another examination is needed.
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