The Veteran's appeal is remanded for an addendum VA opinion regarding whether his degenerative arthritis of the left knee is at least as likely as not aggravated by his service-connected right knee disability.
The deciding factor: An adequate medical opinion regarding secondary service connection must address causation and aggravation separately, which was not done in the previous examination.
- Claimed conditions
- left knee pain, arthritis of other joints associated with left knee pain
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 26, 2022
- Citation
- 22031230
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 22031230.
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 claims for service connection for hypertension, back pain, right hip pain, left hip pain, right knee pain, and left knee pain have been readjudicated. The claim for sleep apnea has also been readjudicated.,Service connection has been granted for a neck condition, back pain, right hip pain, left hip pain, right knee pain, left knee pain, an acquired psychiatric disorder, bruxism, and vertigo.
- Dismissed
The appeal for left arm condition is dismissed. The Veteran's claims for right knee disability, headaches, left elbow pain, and left knee pain are all granted.
- Granted
The Veteran's claims for service connection and increased ratings have been granted, with effective dates ranging from January 1, 2016 to October 30, 2014. The appeal for an earlier effective date for a 20% rating for left lower extremity neuropathy has been dismissed.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the appeal due to the appellant's withdrawal of the appeal.
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