The Veteran's claims for service connection are remanded due to the need for additional medical records and opinions regarding the etiology of his ankle, knee, and leg disorders.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the requested private treatment records from 1991 to 2003 were not obtained and that an advisory opinion from an orthopedist is needed to address the Veteran's claims for service connection.
- Claimed conditions
- shin splints/medial tibial stress syndrome, degenerative changes of the lumbar spine, neurological impairment of the lower extremities, including radiculopathy and/or neuropathy, degenerative changes of the right knee, degenerative changes of the left knee with total knee replacement, degenerative arthritis of the ankles
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 13, 2025
- Citation
- 25000356
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,977 · Granted: 27% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted 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. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 25000356.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for service connection for left lower extremity radiculopathy, which is secondary to her degenerative changes of the lumbar spine, has been remanded due to a duty-to-assist error. The Board found that VA did not obtain private medical records from Hiro Chiropractic and Springfield Family Physicians, who treated the Veteran during the period on appeal.
- Granted
The Veteran's claims for service connection have been granted, with the exception of gastrointestinal disability other than umbilical hernia (including irritable bowel syndrome) and back disability. The Board found new evidence relevant to these claims.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew the appeal for reductions in ratings for post operative left femur fracture with leg length discrepancy and chondromalacia residuals, and degenerative changes of the lumbar spine.
- Granted
The Veteran's paraspinal muscle injury of the thoracic spine, degenerative changes of the cervical spine, and degenerative changes of the lumbar spine were all rated at 40 percent effective April 7, 2016. This was a reduction from noncompensable (0%) to 40%.
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