The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for low back, neck, left elbow, and occipital headaches disabilities secondary to the service-connected right knee disability due to insufficient medical opinions in the March 2018 remand. The Veteran's statements regarding a fall in 2009 after his right knee gave out are to be considered.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the medical opinions did not specifically consider and discuss the Veteran’s statements regarding the onset of back, neck, and elbow pain and headaches from a fall in 2009 after his right knee gave out.
- Claimed conditions
- low back disability, neck disability, left elbow disability, occipital headaches
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 20, 2021
- Citation
- 21023038
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 21023038.
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 decided to remand the claim for service connection of a neck disability due to pre-decisional error in not obtaining a VA examination and medical opinion.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has found that remand is needed for the Veteran's claims due to duty to assist errors, including clarification of periods of service and obtaining relevant records. The Veteran will be afforded new medical examinations for each claimed disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for neck and back disabilities due to a lack of medical evidence supporting the Veteran's assertions. The VA will obtain an examination and provide an opinion on whether these disabilities are related to service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and remanded the claims of right shoulder disability and low back disability due to insufficient evidence.
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