The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for bilateral knee disorder, cervical spine disorder, and thoracolumbar spine disorder to obtain additional medical opinions that address the Veteran's lay statements regarding the onset and continuity of his symptoms.
The deciding factor: The August 2023 VA medical opinions did not substantially comply with the Board's February 2023 remand directives, as they merely restated the Board's order without addressing the Veteran's statements about the onset and continuity of his symptoms.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral knee disorder, including degenerative arthritis, cervical spine disorder, including cervical strain, thoracolumbar spine disorder, including lumbar strain, degenerative arthritis, and scoliosis
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 21, 2024
- Citation
- 24033289
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 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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew the appeal for service connection for a cervical spine disorder and bilateral cataracts of the eyes.
- Denied
The Board denied the claims for an increased rating for the left shoulder disorder, service connection for a cervical spine disorder, service connection for a right arm disorder, and service connection for a left arm disorder.
- Dismissed
The appeal seeking service connection for diabetes mellitus, type II, degenerative arthritis, hyperlipidemia, and hypertension was dismissed due to non-compliance with claims processing rules.
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This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.