The Board has remanded several claims related to the Veteran's service connection for various conditions, including low back pain with arthritis, right and left knee chondromalacia patellofemoral (claimed as arthritis), obstructive sleep apnea, pitting edema of the lower extremities, esophagitis and hiatal hernia with varices and GERD and aspiration pneumonia, and TBI. The claims are being remanded for further development.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the VA examinations were inadequate and did not address all theories of entitlement or provide nexus opinions regarding the Veteran's service connection claims.
- Claimed conditions
- Low back pain with arthritis, Right knee chondromalacia patellofemoral (claimed as arthritis), Left knee chondromalacia patellofemoral (claimed as arthritis), Obstructive sleep apnea, Pitting edema of the right lower extremity (claimed as arthritis), Pitting edema of the left lower extremity (claimed as arthritis), Esophagitis and hiatal hernia with varices and GERD and aspiration pneumonia, TBI
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 28, 2020
- Citation
- 20081068
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,548 · Granted: 31% (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 20081068.
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 remanded the claims for service connection due to a duty to assist error, specifically regarding whether the Veteran's current conditions are aggravated by his service-connected DDD of the lumbosacral spine. The AOJ is required to obtain new medical opinions addressing this issue.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for initial compensable ratings for obstructive sleep apnea and headaches, finding that the evidence does not support a finding of persistent daytime hypersomnolence or other manifestations consistent with a compensable disability rating under the criteria established by Diagnostic Codes. The matter is remanded to obtain additional information from the Veteran regarding his headaches and their impact on his daily life.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's eligibility for the VA Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers (PCAFC) is being remanded because the decision was based on incomplete medical evidence and did not consider all available records.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for SMC based on aid and attendance is denied as the effective date cannot be prior to November 9, 2017.
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