The Veteran's claims for increased disability ratings and TDIU are being remanded due to inadequate VA examinations. Additional development is required, including obtaining treatment records and scheduling the Veteran for appropriate VA examinations.
The deciding factor: The VA examinations did not adequately assess the severity of the Veteran’s left knee and hip disabilities during flare-ups, which could impact the disability ratings assigned.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative arthritis of the left hip, Degenerative arthrosis and meniscal tear of the left knee
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 21, 2020
- Citation
- 20080183
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.
- Partly granted
The Board denied initial ratings in excess of 10 percent for degenerative arthritis of the right and left hips, but granted a 10 percent rating from April 12, 2011, for both hip conditions.
- Partly granted
The appeal for higher ratings of sciatic and femoral nerve radiculopathies was dismissed, while the claims for service connection of degenerative arthritis and avascular necrosis of both hips were remanded.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matter for an addendum medical opinion to determine if the Veteran's left hip disability was caused or aggravated by his service-connected foot disabilities.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for degenerative arthritis of the left hip as secondary to service-connected disabilities but denied service connection for a right hip disability, hypertension, and gastroesophageal reflux disease.
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