The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for bilateral hip conditions due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error, specifically regarding the September 2020 VA examination. The examiner must provide an addendum opinion addressing whether her bilateral hip conditions are related to her active service.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the September 2020 VA examination was inadequate and did not address relevant service treatment records or provide an adequate nexus opinion regarding the Veteran's bilateral hip conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- Total left hip replacement with avascular necrosis, Right hip avascular necrosis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 6, 2024
- Citation
- A24044063
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 A24044063.
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.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for right and left hip disabilities as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected lumbar spine disability.
- Denied
The Veteran's right hip avascular necrosis and greater trochanteric bursitis were rated at 30 percent prior to December 9, 2020. The Board found that the evidence did not support a higher rating due to lack of moderately severe residuals of weakness, pain, or limitation of motion.
- Denied
The Board denied a disability rating in excess of 10 percent for the service-connected left thumb scar, finding that the evidence did not support such an increase.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's right hip disability is related to his in-service herbicide exposure, specifically Agent Orange.
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