The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for right hip and lumbar spine disabilities due to inadequate medical opinions. The VA is required to provide a new opinion addressing whether his current conditions are related to his bilateral knee conditions or service.
The deciding factor: The VA needs to provide an addendum opinion that addresses the etiology of the Veteran's right hip and lumbar spine conditions, specifically whether they were caused by or aggravated by his service-connected bilateral knee conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- right hip strain, femoral acetabular impingement, lumbar spine strain, discitis, bilateral sacroiliac joint diseases with sclerosis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 3, 2021
- Citation
- 21040276
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 21040276.
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 several claims for further action, including effective date determinations and service connection determinations. The Veteran's service records from Portsmouth Naval Hospital are requested to be obtained.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for service connection of his right hip disability is denied as the earliest date of entitlement is April 21, 2025.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not meet the criteria for specially adapted housing or a special home adaptation grant due to lack of functional impairment. The Board has determined that a VA examination is needed to determine if any service-connected disability results in loss of use of both lower extremities, one lower extremity and one upper extremity, or residuals affecting balance and propulsion.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's current right hip disability is likely related to his service, granting him service connection for a right hip disability.
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