The Board remands the Veteran's claims for service connection for a right knee disability and GERD to correct pre-decisional duty to assist errors, including obtaining relevant non-VA treatment records and a fully adequate VA medical opinion.
The deciding factor: The May 2021 VA medical opinions were found inadequate due to inconsistencies with other evidence of record, failure to consider all relevant STRs, and lack of complete records for the Veteran's knee injections. Additionally, there was an indication that GERD symptoms may have started within a year after service, warranting a VA examination.
- Claimed conditions
- Right knee disability, to include chondromalacia patella and/or osteoarthritis, Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 8, 2024
- Citation
- A24073268
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 granted service connection for chronic headaches, CFS, dermatosis, bilateral RLS, a lumbar spine disability, and sleep apnea but denied a compensable evaluation for allergic rhinitis.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matters for additional development, including obtaining private treatment records and conducting VA examinations.
- Partly granted
The Board denied the claims for an initial compensable rating for left ear sensorineural hearing loss, service connection for a right ear hearing loss disability, and a left eye disorder. However, it granted service connection for a back disability and radiculopathy of both lower extremities as secondary to the back disability.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss, arthritis of the cervical spine, cervical radiculopathy of the left arm, back disability, left elbow condition, left shoulder condition, left wrist condition, left hand condition, hypertension, and an initial rating of 10 percent for coronary arteriosclerosis prior to September 24, 2024.
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