The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for a rating in excess of 40 percent for his service-connected back condition, as well as his claims for service connection for a bowel condition and left knee condition. The AOJ will need to conduct additional development including obtaining new medical opinions regarding the severity of the Veteran's back condition and the nature and etiology of his claimed bowel and left knee conditions.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the current examinations were inadequate, particularly in regards to assessing the severity of the Veteran's service-connected back condition and the nature and etiology of his claimed bowel and left knee conditions. The AOJ will need to obtain new opinions from appropriate clinicians to address these issues.
- Claimed conditions
- Status-post discectomy, chronic low back pain with degenerative disc disease (back condition), Bowel dysfunction disorder, Left knee condition
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 31, 2022
- Citation
- 22005041
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 22005041.
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.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the Veteran's appeals for higher disability ratings in excess of 20 percent for cervical spine and lumbar spine conditions, left knee condition, right knee condition, and sinusitis. The Veteran was granted service connection for chronic laryngeal papillomatosis.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), a bowel condition, and a bladder condition. The Board found no evidence of a current disability for these conditions and concluded that any relationship to service is not supported by the medical evidence.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew his appeals for service connection of left shoulder, left sinus tarsi syndrome disorder, right sinus tarsi syndrome disorder, left ankle condition and right ankle condition.,Service connection was granted for restrictive lung disease, lumbosacral strain condition, left knee condition, right knee condition, bilateral metatarsalgia condition and bilateral plantar fasciitis condition.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for bilateral knee disabilities, finding that the Veteran's current knee pain is due to her service-connected left ankle disability and results in functional impairment of earning capacity.
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