The Board remands the claims for a new examination and medical opinion to address the current nature and severity of the Veteran's service-connected left knee conditions, including whether they aggravated his other left knee conditions that necessitated total left knee replacement.
The deciding factor: The May 2022 VA examination was found inadequate due to conflicting information regarding the need for assistive devices and the June 2022 and August 2022 VA medical opinions were also deemed inadequate as they did not address whether the Veteran's service-connected conditions aggravated his other left knee conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- left knee limited flexion, patellofemoral pain syndrome, left knee instability, patellofemoral pain syndrome (claimed as left knee pain), left knee limited extension, patellofemoral pain syndrome
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 30, 2024
- Citation
- A24069942
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.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the appeal for service connection for bilateral knee instability and denied service connection for right and left knee instability, finding no nexus between the Veteran's knee conditions and his service or service-connected disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issues of entitlement to increased ratings for a thoracolumbar spine disorder and bilateral knee disorders due to the need for additional VA examinations.
- Denied
The Board denied restoration of the 30 percent ratings for left knee arthritis (flexion), left knee strain arthritis (extension), and left knee instability, as well as a 20 percent rating for left ankle chronic sprain. The Veteran's claims for increased ratings were also denied.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for right knee gout and a rating of 50 percent for the Veteran's right wrist condition, while remanding several other issues related to his knees and instability.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.