The Board remands the claims for service connection for a back, left knee and bilateral wrist disabilities to provide adequate medical examinations and opinions.
The deciding factor: Neither the private opinions nor the VA medical opinions are adequate as they do not address the appellant's lay statements regarding the onset and continuity of his disabilities or rely on inaccurate factual premises.
- Claimed conditions
- back disability, to include thoracolumbar degenerative arthritis, left knee disability, to include patellofemoral pain syndrome, left wrist disability, to include a left wrist strain, right wrist disability, to include a right wrist strain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 17, 2025
- Citation
- A25024244
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 Board remands the issue of entitlement to service connection for a back disability due to a duty to assist error, specifically regarding VA's failure to provide the Veteran with a VA examination prior to the rating decision.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for multiple conditions, including bilateral hearing loss and various musculoskeletal issues, as well as an initial rating in excess of 0 percent for rhinitis. However, the Board granted a 70 percent rating for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for various disabilities to the AOJ for further development and consideration of evidence not previously considered.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matter for another VA examination and opinion as the previous examinations were found to be inadequate.
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