The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection for her bilateral knee and hip conditions are remanded due to conflicting factual basis on the severity of her symptoms, requiring a new VA examination. For service connection, an addendum opinion is needed regarding whether her bilateral hip conditions are proximately caused or aggravated by her service-connected bilateral knee conditions.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's assertions of worsening symptoms and conflicting factual bases necessitate further evaluation to determine the current severity of her bilateral knee conditions and their impact on her hip conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- patellofemoral pain syndrome of the left knee, patellofemoral pain syndrome of the right knee, left hip iliopsoas tendonitis, right hip iliopsoas tendonitis
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 25, 2022
- Citation
- 22065868
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 22065868.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's claims for service connection for diabetes mellitus II and patellofemoral pain syndrome of the left knee were granted with an effective date of June 6, 2023.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for left hip iliopsoas tendonitis, right knee strain, and left knee strain as secondary to lumbosacral strain. Service connection was also granted for cannabis use disorder as secondary to mental health conditions of PTSD, major depressive disorder with alcohol use disorder, and TBI. However, the Board denied an initial disability rating in excess of 70 percent for PTSD and granted a separate disability rating of 40 percent for TBI.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board denied an effective date earlier than May 26, 2016, for a separate rating for right knee instability and left knee instability. The claims for higher ratings based on limitation of motion and instability of the knees, separate ratings for meniscus conditions of the knees, and secondary service connection claims were remanded.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for further development to ensure compliance with previous remand directives and to address the functional loss during flare-ups.
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