The Veteran's appeal for increased ratings and TDIU is remanded due to the need for new VA examinations, including a mood disorder examination and an evaluation of his left knee disability in both active and passive motion.
The deciding factor: The Board found that there has been a potential worsening of the Veteran's mood disorder and left knee disabilities, necessitating further evaluations to determine current severity.
- Claimed conditions
- mood disorder (claimed as depression), chronic lumbar sprain with spondylosis, severe disk disease at L4-5 and L5-S1 with degenerative spondylolisthesis at 4-5 and radiational discomfort to buttocks, patellofemoral pain syndrome with chondromalacia of the left knee
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 18, 2022
- Citation
- 22015658
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 22015658.
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 Veteran's claim for service connection for a mood disorder (claimed as depression) was granted with a 70% disability rating effective May 18, 2012. The RO denied the Appellant's request to withhold attorney fees from these benefits due to an untimely filed agreement. The case is now remanded for issuance of a statement of the case.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is remanded for additional development, including scheduling a VA examination and obtaining all relevant medical records. The issues of entitlement to an increased rating for his mood disorder and TDIU are inextricably intertwined with the earlier effective date issue.
- Remanded (sent back)
The appeal is remanded to the RO for further development of evidence related to the Veteran's claim for service connection for a psychiatric disability.
- Denied
The veteran's claims for service connection for depression and an initial rating higher than 10 percent for patellofemoral pain syndrome with chondromalacia of the left knee were both denied. The veteran was not granted any new ratings or effective dates.
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