The Board remands the claims for higher disability ratings for the Veteran's service-connected bilateral knee, bilateral shoulder, and right hip conditions due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
The deciding factor: Remand is warranted as the AOJ issued its October 2021 rating decision without considering pertinent evidence obtained by VA itself during a permissible evidence window.
- Claimed conditions
- right hip femoral acetabular impingement syndrome with degenerative arthritis and limitation of extension, right hip femoral acetabular impingement syndrome with degenerative arthritis, right hip femoral acetabular impingement syndrome with degenerative arthritis and limitation of flexion, left knee degenerative arthritis, right knee degenerative arthritis, left shoulder degenerative arthritis, right shoulder degenerative arthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 30, 2024
- Citation
- A24069866
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.
- Partly granted
The Board denied a disability rating in excess of 10 percent for right knee meniscal tear with degenerative arthritis and granted a separate 20 percent rating for right knee instability.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for lumbar spine degenerative arthritis, left and right lower extremity radiculopathies, left and right hip pain, right knee degenerative arthritis, generalized anxiety disorder, and depressive disorder.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for left knee degenerative arthritis and a rating of 30 percent for left knee joint instability, while remanding other issues.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the appeals for earlier effective dates related to various left and right hip, knee, shoulder, and other conditions as they were freestanding claims not continuously pursued from the initial rating decisions.
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