The Board has remanded the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral knee disabilities, including as secondary to his service-connected type II diabetes mellitus with neuropathy of the bilateral lower extremities. The case is being returned for further development and consideration.
The deciding factor: The VA examinations provided were inadequate due to failure to consider all relevant medical evidence and lay statements from the Veteran.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative Arthritis of Bilateral Knees
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 10, 2020
- Citation
- 20072365
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,451 · Granted: 22% (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 20072365.
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 Veteran's request to reopen her finally denied claim of service connection for headaches has been granted. The Board has also remanded several other issues including the increased rating for back disability, and claims for degenerative arthritis of shoulders, neck, and knees.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's left knee patellofemoral syndrome is currently rated at 10 percent for limitation of extension and noncompensable for limitation of flexion. The Board finds that the evidence does not support a higher rating.,The Veteran’s low back strain has been rated as 20 percent prior to January 22, 2019 and in excess of 20 percent thereafter. The Board finds that there is no evidence supporting a higher rating for this condition.,The Veteran's allergic rhinitis is currently rated at 10 percent. The Board finds that the evidence does not support a higher rating.,The Veteran’s right shoulder strain (major) is currently rated as 20 percent. The Board finds that there is no evidence supporting a higher rating for this condition.,The Veteran's right knee disability remains in appellate status and requires further examination.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for bilateral hearing loss and degenerative arthritis of the knees have been denied. The Board found that the Veteran did not meet the criteria for a compensable rating for his bilateral hearing loss, as his hearing acuity was no worse than Level VII in the right ear and Level I in the left ear. For his knee disabilities, the Board determined that the flexion limitation did not warrant a higher rating under any applicable diagnostic codes.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran's current bilateral knee disorder is not related to his active military service and denied his claim for service connection.
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