The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral shoulder and knee disabilities due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the etiology of his current conditions.
The deciding factor: The VA examiners' opinions were inadequate as they did not consider the Veteran's lay statements about symptoms in-service and post-service, nor did they address the time gap between separation from service and diagnoses of arthritis.
- Claimed conditions
- left shoulder arthritis, right shoulder arthritis, left knee arthritis, right knee arthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 14, 2022
- Citation
- 22008509
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 22008509.
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 Veteran withdrew her appeal regarding the service connection for left and right knee arthritis, thus the appeal is dismissed.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that new and relevant evidence sufficient to readjudicate the previously denied claim for service connection for a right knee disability has been received. The AOJ should now consider secondary service connection in addition to the original claims.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's November 2018 notice of disagreement was timely, and the appeal is remanded for further review.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea and dismissed all other appeals related to various joint conditions.
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