The Board remands the issues of increased ratings for right knee disabilities and service connection for opioid use disorder, as well as a TDIU claim, due to deficiencies in the current evidence.
The deciding factor: Remand is required to provide additional medical examinations that comply with DeLuca v. Brown standards and address the potential secondary nature of the Veteran's opioid use disorder.
- Claimed conditions
- degenerative joint disease medial compartment, status post meniscectomy right knee with traumatic arthritis, calcified mass of the suprapatellar bursa (right knee DJD), opioid use disorder, right knee, limitation of extension
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 3, 2025
- Citation
- A25009532
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,062 · Granted: 34% (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 A25009532.
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 claims, including his request for a higher level review of the August 26, 2022 decision denying his claim of clear and unmistakable error in an August 16, 2013 rating decision, are being remanded. The AOJ must address whether the September 8, 2021 decision addressed his April 21, 2022 claim for a CUE.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have an acquired psychiatric condition, including posttraumatic stress disorder, opioid use disorder, and stimulant use disorder, that was incurred during or is otherwise related to his period of active service.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for a temporary total rating due to hospital treatment more than 21 days for his service-connected other specified trauma and stressor related disorder with anxiety disorder due to another medical condition is granted, effective January 29, 2024.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities have rendered him so helpless as to be in need of regular aid and attendance since January 22, 2018. The Board has granted an effective date of January 22, 2018 for SMC based on aid and attendance.
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