The Board has remanded the issues of entitlement to service connection for low back and bilateral hip disabilities due to their potential secondary nature to service-connected knee disabilities. The Veteran's altered gait and reported flare-ups indicate a need for medical opinions regarding causation and aggravation.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's current low back, left hip, or right hip disability may be caused or aggravated by his now service-connected knee disabilities based on observed gait abnormalities and reported flare-ups of sacroiliac joint pain during exercises for knee pain.
- Claimed conditions
- low back disability, left hip disability, right hip disability
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 13, 2023
- Citation
- 23038768
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 23038768.
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 decided to remand the Veteran's claims for left and right hip disabilities due to inadequate VA medical opinions. The Veteran will need an adequate VA medical opinion to determine if his hip disabilities are related to service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has found that remand is needed for the Veteran's claims due to duty to assist errors, including clarification of periods of service and obtaining relevant records. The Veteran will be afforded new medical examinations for each claimed disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for left, right ankle disabilities, left and right hip disabilities, left and right shin splints, and left and right knee disabilities due to inadequate nexus opinions in the VA examination reports. The Veteran contends that her current disabilities are related to injuries sustained during basic training.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and remanded the claims of right shoulder disability and low back disability due to insufficient evidence.
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