The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his right knee and low back disabilities, as well as his claim for service connection for sleep apnea. The claims are being returned to the RO for further development.
The deciding factor: The VA examinations did not sufficiently comply with the Court’s holding in Sharp v. Shulkin, 29 Vet. App. 26 (2017), and the June 2020 Board Remand directives regarding functional loss during flare-ups and limitations of motion.
- Claimed conditions
- right knee chondromalacia status post arthroscopy with synovectomy, chondroplasty, partial medial meniscectomy, plica excision with osteochondral defect, and calcific tendonitis of suprapatellar tendon and degenerative arthritis, lumbosacral strain with degenerative changes
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 12, 2020
- Citation
- 20072708
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 remands the issues of entitlement to increased ratings for lumbosacral strain with degenerative changes, right lower extremity radiculopathy, and left lower extremity radiculopathy due to insufficient evidence.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for a rating in excess of 20 percent for lumbosacral strain with degenerative changes, as the evidence did not support a higher disability rating.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the case for a new examination to determine the current severity of the Veteran's lumbosacral strain with degenerative changes and to readjudicate the issues on appeal, including review of the evidence added to the claims file since the January 2017 SOC.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities have rendered him unable to secure and follow substantially gainful employment, leading to a TDIU rating.
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