The Board remands the claims for increased ratings and service connection due to an inadequate statement of reasons or bases in denying higher ratings for bilateral knee disabilities, a lack of medical evidence regarding the severity of bilateral knee instability, and the need for an etiology opinion on right knee gout.
The deciding factor: The Board finds that additional development is necessary to properly rate the Veteran's knee instability and to determine whether his right knee effusion is related to service-connected disability or gout. The Board also needs to address whether the Veteran's symptoms during January 2020 VA examination represent the functional equivalent of ankylosis for his right wrist.
- Claimed conditions
- right knee gout, left knee instability, right knee instability, right knee limited flexion, left knee limited flexion, right wrist disability (status post fracture, right wrist), left knee limited extension, right knee limited extension
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 18, 2024
- 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.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the appeal for service connection for bilateral knee instability and denied service connection for right and left knee instability, finding no nexus between the Veteran's knee conditions and his service or service-connected disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issues of entitlement to increased ratings for a thoracolumbar spine disorder and bilateral knee disorders due to the need for additional VA examinations.
- Partly granted
The Board denied an increased rating for right knee strain and instability but granted a separate 10 percent rating for right knee limitation of extension from November 25, 2024.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including left foot condition, right foot condition, cellulitis, right ear hearing loss, and right lower extremity radiculopathy. The appeal of the proposal to reduce a 40 percent evaluation for lumbosacral strain was dismissed.
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