The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for arthritis of the neck, left hip, and bilateral knees due to a lack of a VA examination and opinion regarding the nature and etiology of these conditions. The Veteran claims his current disabilities are secondary to his service-connected peripheral neuropathy of the lower extremities.
The deciding factor: The Board found that there was a pre-decisional duty-to-assist error as the Veteran was not afforded a VA examination and opinion to determine the nature and etiology of his neck, left hip, and bilateral knee disorders.
- Claimed conditions
- arthritis of the neck, arthritis of the left hip, arthritis of the left knee, arthritis of the right knee
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 15, 2024
- Citation
- A24065783
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 275 · Granted: 33% (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 A24065783.
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 arthritis of the right and left knees, finding that it is at least as likely as not that these conditions developed due to the Veteran's active military service.,No new evidence or exposure basis was provided in this decision.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not meet the criteria for a special home adaptation grant as they do not result in anatomical loss or use of both hands, blindness in both eyes, deep partial thickness burns, full thickness or subdermal burns, or residuals of an inhalation injury.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's right knee disability, including arthritis and patellofemoral syndrome. The examiner is asked to provide an opinion on whether these conditions are related to service.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for chondromalacia patella, patellofemoral crepitus, and arthritis of the left knee. Service connection for a left knee meniscal tear is denied.
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