The Board remands the issues of entitlement to a disability rating in excess of 10 percent for left knee strain, and service connection for left elbow and right elbow conditions due to a pre-decision duty to assist error.
The deciding factor: Remand is required to correct a pre-decision duty to assist error as the Veteran's most recent VA examination was in September 2021 and he has reported increased severity of his left knee disability, and there are complaints of bilateral elbow pain without a diagnosed condition that may result in functional impairment.
- Claimed conditions
- left elbow condition, left knee strain, right elbow condition
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 4, 2025
- Citation
- A25019812
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 575 · Granted: 29% (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 A25019812.
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.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the appeals for service connection of various conditions due to untimely filing of the appeal.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for service connection for left knee strain, right knee strain, shin splints of the right leg, and shin splints of the left leg are being remanded due to a failure to obtain VA examinations and medical nexus opinions.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for treatment purposes only under Chapter 17 for various conditions, including cervical spine condition, right upper extremity nerve condition, left upper extremity nerve condition, headache condition, right wrist condition, left wrist condition, right elbow condition, left elbow condition, right shoulder condition, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), bilateral pes planus, right ankle disorder, left ankle disorder, and left knee disorder.
- Denied
The Veteran's initial evaluations for left knee strain, limitation of extension and flexion were both denied as the evidence did not show that his symptoms warranted a rating higher than 10 percent.
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