The Board has decided to remand the case due to inadequate opinions provided by the VA examiner regarding the Veteran's left knee osteoarthritis and its relationship to his service-connected right knee disability. The case will be returned for further development.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner's opinions were found to be insufficient as they did not adequately consider the Veteran's lay statements of his symptomatology, including his testimony at the Board hearing that his right knee pain during service led to overuse of his left leg/knee. The VA examiner also failed to clearly explain why the left knee disability was not secondary to or aggravated by the Veteran's left knee osteoarthritis.
- Claimed conditions
- left knee osteoarthritis
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 14, 2022
- Citation
- 22068840
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 22068840.
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 Board has determined that the VA examinations provided for the Veteran's knee and palatal tympanic myocronus claims were inadequate, and thus these cases must be remanded to obtain new evaluations.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, but has remanded the cases of left knee and lumbar spine disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims of service connection for left and right knee disabilities are being remanded due to the need for additional medical opinions regarding the relationship between his service-connected right ankle degenerative arthritis and his current knee conditions.
- Granted
The Veteran was eligible for beneficiary travel benefits to attend a VA medical appointment on March 16, 2021 due to his service-connected conditions. The Board found that the nearest available clinic provided the required care and that the Veteran's statements were credible and consistent with the evidence.
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