The Board has remanded the claims for low back and right knee disabilities due to inadequate medical opinions in previous decisions. The Veteran contends that his current conditions are secondary to service-connected disabilities, but a VA examiner's opinion is needed to determine if there is a link between the service-connected conditions and the new conditions.
The deciding factor: The Board found the prior medical opinions insufficient to decide the claims for service connection due to lack of rationale and consideration of the Veteran's assertions regarding his gait pattern.
- Claimed conditions
- Low back disability, Right knee disability
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- November 6, 2020
- Citation
- 20071950
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,240 · Granted: 28% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 20071950.
What this means for you
A remand sends an issue back for more development, often a new examination or missing records. It does not award the benefit or decide the final outcome. The original decision explains the additional work ordered.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a low back disability and an increased rating for his acquired psychiatric disorder. The Board found that there was no evidence linking the current disabilities to military service.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected low back disability alone does not prevent him from securing and following a substantially gainful occupation.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a low back disability and bilateral hip disability, finding that there was no evidence linking these conditions to his military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased disability evaluation and effective dates are being remanded due to the need for a new VA examination to address the severity of his low back disability, including whether he has experienced incapacitating episodes of IVDS.
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