The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his bilateral knee disabilities, service connection for a left shoulder disorder, and sleep apnea are being remanded due to inadequate examination reports. The Veteran needs to be scheduled for new VA examinations to address the nature and severity of his service-connected conditions.
The deciding factor: The current examination reports do not adequately address the Veteran's reported flare-ups and continuity of symptoms related to his service-connected disabilities, as well as his lay statements concerning the onset and progression of his conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative Joint Disease Status Post Left Meniscectomy (Left Knee Disability), Degenerative Joint Disease Status Post Right Knee Meniscectomy (Right Knee Disability), Left Shoulder Disorder, Sleep Apnea
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 19, 2021
- Citation
- 21023005
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 21023005.
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 service connection for sleep apnea, finding that the evidence did not support a link between the condition and service.
- Denied
The claims for PTSD, an acquired psychiatric disorder, memory loss/memory problems, chronic fatigue, sleep difficulties/sleep disturbances, and sleep apnea have been denied. The claim for service connection for residuals of testicular denervation and varicosectomy has been granted.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's asthma is currently rated at 30 percent, and the Board finds that a higher rating is not warranted.,The Veteran's sleep apnea claim has been remanded due to duty-to-assist errors.
- Denied
The Veteran's appeal for increased ratings and service connection claims have been denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support a higher rating for PTSD, denied service connection for CFS, mast cell activation syndrome, and sleep apnea as secondary to PTSD, and remanded TDIU.
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