The Board has found that a remand is necessary for the Veteran's claims due to lack of substantial compliance with prior Board remand directives. The Veteran's bilateral knee condition and Sjögren's Syndrome, including Sicca Syndrome, are related to her exposure to hazardous fumes from burn pits during service in Southwest Asia.
The deciding factor: The VA examiners did not address the Veteran’s presumed exposure to hazardous fumes from burn pits during service in Southwest Asia and whether such is related to her current knee conditions or Sicca Syndrome.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral knee condition, Sjögren's Syndrome, to include Sicca Syndrome
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 21, 2020
- Citation
- 20080264
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 3,038 · Granted: 30% (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 20080264.
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 has determined that the VA decision of February 2020 is not final and remands the cases for further development.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for a low back condition, bilateral knee condition, and bilateral foot condition as there was no credible evidence linking these conditions to the Veteran's military service.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for right knee replacement and bilateral knee condition, finding that the Veteran's current symptoms are related to his active military service.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for PTSD and bilateral hearing loss, as well as service connection for kidney disease, GERD, bilateral knee condition, and bilateral arm condition. The TDIU claim was remanded.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.