The Board has determined that the VA medical opinions regarding the Veteran's bilateral hip and lumbar spine disabilities are inadequate for purposes of adjudication. The secondary service connection opinions note an association between the Veteran's bilateral hip and lumbar spine disabilities, and his service-connected bilateral knee disabilities, but find no causative relationship has been established. The Board finds this to be conclusory as the examiner has provided no rationale to support these opinions. Moreover, the examiner did not provide an opinion as to whether the claimed bilateral hip and lumbar spine disabilities have been aggravated by the Veteran's service-connected bilateral knee disabilities. Therefore, remand is warranted for further VA medical opinions.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the previous VA medical opinions were inadequate due to a lack of rationale supporting the conclusions regarding the relationship between the Veteran's bilateral hip and lumbar spine disabilities and his service-connected bilateral knee disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- left hip degenerative arthritis, right hip strain, lumbar spine degenerative disc disease (DDD), degenerative joint disease (DJD), spinal stenosis, bilateral flatfoot
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- September 14, 2023
- Citation
- 23050998
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 23050998.
What this means for you
A remand sends an issue back for more development, often a new examination or missing records. It does not award the benefit or decide the final outcome. The original decision explains the additional work ordered.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's left hip degenerative arthritis is secondary to his service-connected right total hip replacement and grants this claim.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for lumbar spine degenerative arthritis and DDD, as well as right and left lower extremity radiculopathy secondary to the now service-connected lumbar spine condition. The decision is based on a finding of relative equipoise in the evidence regarding whether these conditions are related to service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded several claims for further action, including effective date determinations and service connection determinations. The Veteran's service records from Portsmouth Naval Hospital are requested to be obtained.
- Granted
The Veteran's service connection claims for degenerative disc disease, intervertebral disc syndrome, spinal stenosis, and bilateral lower extremity sciatica have been granted as they are related to his active duty service.
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