The Board has determined that additional development is needed to properly rate the Veteran's bilateral knee and right wrist disabilities, including obtaining new VA examinations and medical opinions.
The deciding factor: The July 2023 Joint Motion for Partial Remand (JMPR) found deficiencies in the Board's reasons and bases for denying higher ratings for the Veteran's bilateral knee disabilities. Specifically, the JMPR noted that the Board did not define subjective terms of slight, moderate, or severe or provide objective standards for each level of impairment in rating the Veteran's bilateral knee instability.
- Claimed conditions
- Left Knee Instability, Right Knee Instability, Left Knee Flexion Limited, Right Knee Flexion Limited, Left Knee Extension Limitation, Right Knee Extension Limitation, Right Wrist Disability (pre-7/21/2021), Right Wrist Disability (post-7/21/2021)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 18, 2024
- Citation
- 24002666
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,820 · Granted: 26% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 24002666.
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 Veteran's service-connected knee disabilities have been rated and denied for increased ratings, with some conditions receiving specific disability ratings. The Veteran is granted a 60% rating for her total right knee replacement from September 4, 2015 onwards, but the other claims are denied.
- Granted
The Veteran's cervical spine disability, right knee strain (painful motion), and right knee instability are now rated at 30 percent effective August 16, 2017.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has granted a separate rating of 30 percent for right knee instability, but has remanded the issue of an increased rating for right knee disability due to inadequate VA examinations and failure to consider the effects of pain medication.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for increased ratings and service connection have been dismissed due to the withdrawal of representation.
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