The Board has determined that a remand is needed to address the Veteran's claims for compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 due to complications from his September 18, 2015, total right knee arthroplasty.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner did not adequately address whether the leg length discrepancy resulting from the surgery was foreseeable and caused additional disabilities such as low back pain and bilateral hip pain.
- Claimed conditions
- Thoracolumbar spine degenerative disease, Bilateral hip pain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 14, 2022
- Citation
- 22063370
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 22063370.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for bilateral hip pain, GERD, supraventricular tachycardia/atrial fibrillation, and peripheral artery disease as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected mechanical low back pain with degenerative disc disease and spinal stenosis.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for bilateral hip pain and right knee instability, both secondary to lumbar degenerative disc disease, left knee disabilities, and lower extremity radiculopathy.
- Denied
The Veteran's service connection claims for multiple joint pain, including as due to an undiagnosed illness or other qualifying chronic disability pursuant to 38 U.S.C. § 1117, and shoulder and hip pain have been denied because the evidence does not support a finding that these conditions are related to his military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions due to insufficient development and lack of medical nexus opinions. The Veteran is required to provide more specific information about his in-service stressors, a VA examination must be provided for psychiatric disorders, and further examinations are needed for the lumbar spine, right knee, left foot numbness, bilateral hip pain, and bilateral lower extremity sciatica.
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