The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for various elbow, foot, and knee disorders due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology. The Veteran is also being asked to provide any outstanding private or VA treatment records.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the previous VA examinations did not adequately consider the Veteran’s statements about the onset and continuity of his symptoms and did not provide appropriate rationale for their conclusions.
- Claimed conditions
- Left elbow disorder, Right elbow disorder, Left foot disorder, Right foot disorder, Left knee disorder, Right knee disorder, Right shoulder disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 12, 2020
- Citation
- 20072840
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for annual clothing allowances for a left knee sleeve, A&D ointment, hydrocortisone cream, and incontinence briefs due to lack of service connection or evidence that these items cause irreparable damage to outer garments.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, a right knee disorder, and a lumbar spine disorder.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss, hypertension, traumatic brain injury (TBI), and a right shoulder disorder as there was no probative evidence of current disabilities as defined by VA.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for sleep apnea, a left knee disorder, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), hiatal hernia, and diverticulitis. A 30 percent rating was also granted for the Veteran's generalized anxiety disorder effective February 26, 2021.
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This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.