The Board has remanded the issues of service connection for left and right knee disabilities, as well as an acquired psychiatric disorder (depression), to include as secondary to degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine due to inadequate opinions in the previous VA examinations.
The deciding factor: The previous VA contract examiners did not provide adequate rationale or address all theories of service connection for these issues.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative Arthritis of Lumbar Spine, Left Knee Disability, Right Knee Disability, Acquired Psychiatric Disorder (Depression)
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 10, 2021
- Citation
- 21007832
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 21007832.
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 Veteran's service-connected knee disabilities are rated at 10% each, and the Board finds that higher ratings are not warranted based on the evidence of record.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral knee disabilities are not related to his active service, and thus denied both claims for service connection.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection of a right knee disability, finding that there is no evidence to support an etiological relationship between his current condition and his military service.
- Denied
The Veteran's left knee disability is currently rated at 30 percent, and the Board finds no evidence of clear and unmistakable error in assigning an effective date of June 19, 2002.
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