The Board has remanded the issues of entitlement to increased ratings for lumbar spine DDD, left knee patellofemoral syndrome, right knee status-post ACL reconstruction, and right knee instability due to inadequate retrospective medical opinions.
The deciding factor: The prior remand required the RO to obtain retrospective medical opinions that complied with specific requirements (e.g., Sharp v. Shulkin, Correia v. McDonald), but these were not provided in the September 2021 JMR as they did not meet the criteria set forth.
- Claimed conditions
- right lower extremity radiculopathy, lumbar spine degenerative disc disease (DDD), left knee patellofemoral syndrome, right knee status-post anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction, right knee instability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 14, 2023
- Citation
- 23009407
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 23009407.
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 the Veteran's claim for service connection of a left knee disability, finding that it is not proximately due to or aggravated by his service-connected back and sciatica disabilities. The evidence did not support a nexus between the Veteran's current condition and his military service.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals were dismissed due to the death of the appellant. The issues related to service connection for various conditions and disability ratings.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a lumbar spine disability, left lower extremity radiculopathy, and right lower extremity radiculopathy as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected lumbar spine disability.
- Granted
The Board has granted earlier effective dates for the grant of service connection for middle and index trigger finger/stenosing tenosynovitis of the right hand, left lower extremity radiculopathy, and right lower extremity radiculopathy. The earliest effective date is June 30, 2012, for the right hand condition and April 22, 2016, for bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy.
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