The Board remands the Veteran's claim for service connection for left hip osteoarthritis, to include as secondary to a service-connected left knee degenerative arthritis, due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error and a need for a VA examination.
The deciding factor: Remand is necessary because there is insufficient medical evidence to determine the etiology of the Veteran's left hip osteoarthritis and whether it was caused or aggravated by his service-connected left knee degenerative arthritis.
- Claimed conditions
- left hip osteoarthritis
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 19, 2025
- Citation
- A25025333
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.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for right hip osteoarthritis, left hip osteoarthritis, lumbar spine herniated disc, and bilateral flat feet (pes planus) as secondary to the Veteran's already service-connected bilateral knee and ankle disabilities.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for left knee, right knee, and lumbosacral spine conditions but granted service connection for right hip and left hip osteoarthritis as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected right anterior superior iliac spine avulsion fracture.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for lumbar spine degenerative disc disease and IVDS, left hip osteoarthritis, and right knee osteoarthritis as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected left knee disability.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for left hip osteoarthritis and right hip osteoarthritis as secondary to the Veteran's now service-connected knee disabilities, but denied service connection for a variety of other conditions including bilateral ankle, shoulder, foot, mood disorder, tinnitus, hyperlipidemia, and knees.
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