The claim of service connection for a low back disability (claimed as scoliosis) has been reopened, and the Veteran's left knee scars are denied an initial compensable rating.,VA is remanding the issue of whether the Veteran's low back disability is secondary to her service-connected right knee disability.
The deciding factor: The evidence received since the final denial indicates that there may be a connection between the Veteran's current low back disability and her service-connected right knee disability, but further examination is needed to determine if this relationship exists.,VA will need to conduct an additional VA examination to assess whether the Veteran's low back disability is secondary to her service-connected right knee disability.
- Claimed conditions
- low back disability (claimed as scoliosis), left knee scars
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 22, 2023
- Citation
- 23062214
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 23062214.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for increased ratings for left and right knee scars have been dismissed due to the Veteran's withdrawal of his appeal.
- Denied
The Board denied an initial compensable rating for left knee scars, finding that the evidence did not support a higher evaluation as the combined area of the Veteran's scars was less than the required threshold for a 10% rating.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities rendered him unable to secure or follow any form of substantially gainful employment prior to March 26, 2020. The effective date for the grant of TDIU is set at December 11, 2019.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's requests for earlier effective dates for service connection of his left knee strain and scars, finding that the earliest possible effective date was May 29, 2020, based on when he submitted a request to reopen his previously denied claims.
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