The Board remands the claims for service connection for a left knee meniscal tear and osteoarthritis, and degenerative arthritis of the spine to obtain additional medical opinions.
The deciding factor: The February 2020 VA addendum opinion is found inadequate as it did not address in-service complaints, lay statements regarding continuity of symptoms, or provide a rationale for why repeated parachute landings do not apply to the Veteran's disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- left knee meniscal tear and osteoarthritis, degenerative arthritis of the spine
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 12, 2021
- Citation
- 21063030
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for a deviated septum and right wrist pain, while denying service connection for sleep apnea. The decision also addressed various rating issues and effective dates.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for left hand and right hand essential tremors, as well as increased ratings for knee instability, degenerative arthritis of the spine, and degenerative arthritis of the right ankle. The appeal was denied for a left ankle disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matter for further development to clarify the Veteran's employment status during the appeal period and determine if a TDIU is warranted.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim for service connection for scoliosis and found that the reduction in the combined disability rating for bulging discs in the lumbar spine, lumbosacral strain, degenerative arthritis of the spine, and spondylosis from 40 percent to 10 percent was proper.
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