The Board has decided to remand the cases for further examination and clarification of medical findings related to the Veteran's neck, low back, left knee, and right knee disabilities due to inadequate VA examinations.
The deciding factor: The VA examinations were deemed insufficient in assessing the range of motion under non-weight-bearing circumstances as required by law.
- Claimed conditions
- Cervical strain (neck disability), Lumbosacral strain with degenerative disc disease affecting the L5-S1 nerve, Left knee patellofemoral pain syndrome, Right knee strain with instability associated with left knee patellofemoral pain syndrome
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 4, 2024
- Citation
- A24052544
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 A24052544.
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 has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection and increased rating of his low back, right knee, and left knee patellofemoral pain syndrome disabilities due to a duty to assist error. The VA examinations were inadequate as they did not consider the Veteran's lay statements regarding flare-ups and functional loss/impairment.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected conditions do not meet the criteria for special monthly compensation based on the need of regular aid and attendance due to his psychiatric symptoms.
- Denied
The Board denied a rating in excess of 10 percent for right and left knee patellofemoral pain syndrome, finding that the medical evidence did not support higher ratings based on instability or range of motion.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the VA examinations conducted in March 2020 and September 2020 are inadequate for rating purposes, as they did not adequately address the severity of the Veteran's service-connected disabilities during the entire rating period on appeal. The Board requests additional retrospective medical opinions to determine the functional loss due to flare-ups and whether the Veteran's pain on motion is equivalent to ankylosis.
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