The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for her knee conditions are being remanded due to the need for an adequate VA examination that includes use of a goniometer.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the previous VA examination did not include the use of a goniometer, which is required by regulations for accurate measurement of joint motion. The examiner must now conduct a new examination using a goniometer to assess the Veteran's knee conditions accurately.
- Claimed conditions
- right knee patellofemoral pain syndrome with instability, left knee patellofemoral pain syndrome with instability, right knee patellofemoral pain syndrome (previously rated as chondromalacia, right knee), left knee patellofemoral pain syndrome (previously rated as chondromalacia, left knee)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 29, 2024
- Citation
- A24069674
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 899 · Granted: 45% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation A24069674.
What this means for you
A remand sends an issue back for more development, often a new examination or missing records. It does not award the benefit or decide the final outcome. The original decision explains the additional work ordered.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Dismissed
The veteran withdrew the appeal for effective dates prior to September 27, 2024, for the awards of service connection for various knee and back conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board denied an increased rating for the Veteran's unspecified trauma and stressor related disorder, finding that the severity of his symptoms did not warrant a higher disability rating. The claims for increased ratings for bilateral knee patellofemoral pain syndrome with instability were remanded for further development.
- Denied
The Board denied entitlement to disability ratings in excess of 20 percent for right and left knee instability from October 19, 2015.
- Granted
The Board has restored a 20 percent disability rating for left knee patellofemoral pain syndrome with instability, effective June 1, 2020. The reduction from 20 percent to 0 percent was improper due to inadequate medical evidence showing sustained and material improvement in the Veteran's condition.
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