The Board remands the claims for increased disability evaluations for left knee limitation of flexion, instability, and extension due to inadequate addressing of the Veteran's testimony regarding flare-ups and insufficient compliance with previous remand directives.
The deciding factor: The August 2022 VA examination report did not comply with the Board's April 2022 remand directives, as it failed to address functional loss during flare-ups or repetitive use for each year since January 31, 2008, and the VA examiner limited its discussion of the Veteran's May 2009 DRO testimony.
- Claimed conditions
- Left knee limitation of flexion, Left knee instability, Left knee limitation of extension
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 29, 2025
- Citation
- 25005823
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 ratings in excess of 10 percent for left and right knee patellofemoral pain syndrome but granted a separate 10 percent rating for left knee instability. The claim for service connection for a back disorder was remanded.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issues of entitlement to increased ratings for left and right knee instability and limitation of flexion due to an inadequate VA examination.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 40 percent rating for degenerative disc disease (DDD) with degenerative arthritis and retrolisthesis from February 16, 2021. Other claims were denied.
- Partly granted
The Board denied ratings in excess of the assigned percentages for the veteran's left knee and back disabilities, but granted a 20 percent rating for left knee limitation of flexion from August 4, 2014 to September 24, 2024, and a 30 percent rating for a back disability from August 16, 2019.
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