The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for cervical spine, lumbar spine, right knee, and left knee disabilities due to inadequate assessments of functional loss during flare-ups in prior examinations.
The deciding factor: The VA examinations did not provide sufficient information regarding the extent of the Veteran's functional loss during flare-ups, as required by law.
- Claimed conditions
- cervical spine degenerative disc disease and spondylosis, low back degenerative disc disease and strain, right knee patellofemoral syndrome with osteoarthritis, left knee patellofemoral syndrome with osteoarthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 3, 2022
- Citation
- 22044186
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 22044186.
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 claims for higher ratings and an earlier effective date for his service-connected cervical spine, right knee, and left knee disabilities are being remanded due to inadequate examination reports.
- Granted
The Veteran's left knee patellofemoral syndrome with osteoarthritis was restored to a 20 percent rating effective from October 22, 2009. The reduction of the disability rating from 20 to 10 percent was found to be improper due to insufficient evidence showing improvement in ability to function under ordinary conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to inadequate VA examination report, and a retrospective opinion from an orthopedist is needed.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for increased ratings for cervical spine and low back disabilities to obtain additional medical opinions addressing functional loss during flareups and with repeated use over time.
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