The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for back, left knee, and right knee conditions due to an unsteady gait caused by a service-connected ingrown toenail residuals. The AOJ is required to obtain additional medical opinions addressing the etiology of these conditions.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner did not consider the Veteran's lay statements regarding his gait issues and their impact on his knee and back conditions, which was a pre-decisional error that must be corrected on remand.
- Claimed conditions
- back condition, left knee condition, right knee condition
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- November 6, 2024
- Citation
- A24072685
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 915 · Granted: 38% (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 A24072685.
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
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a back condition, including degenerative disc disease and scoliosis, due to lack of current disability evidence.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal was dismissed due to their death during the pendency of the appeal.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection for sleep apnea has been dismissed due to the withdrawal of his request.,Service connection for a back condition is denied as there is no evidence that the condition began during service or is related to an in-service injury, event, or disease.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to predecisional duty-to-assist errors, including inadequate medical opinions and missed VA examinations. The Veteran's claim for service connection for a back condition is being returned to the RO for further action.
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