The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hip disabilities, right and left foot disabilities, and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and central nervous system (CNS) disability due to insufficient medical opinions addressing the direct theory of service connection and the aggravation component of the secondary service connection theories.
The deciding factor: The Board found that additional VA medical opinions are needed to address both the direct service connection theory and the aggravation component of the secondary service connection theories for all claimed disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- Osteoarthritis of the right hip, Osteoarthritis of the left hip, Peripheral neuropathy of the feet, Right foot plantar spurs, Left foot retrocalcaneal spurs, Rheumatoid arthritis (RA)
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 10, 2023
- Citation
- 23055286
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 23055286.
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 denied a higher rating for bilateral hearing loss and remanded the claims for osteoarthritis of the right hip, left lower extremity sciatic nerve radiculopathy, and right lower extremity femoral nerve radiculopathy.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for additional development, including obtaining a new VA examination to address the inadequacies of previous examinations and obtain any relevant private treatment records.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, osteoarthritis of the right hip, and right renal atrophy with renal insufficiency as secondary to the Veteran's left knee disability. The Board also granted a 10 percent rating for instability of the left knee.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection of osteoarthritis of the right hip as secondary to a service-connected condition due to an inadequate medical opinion.
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