The Board remands the claims for increased ratings of right knee, lumbar spine, and bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy to obtain an addendum opinion from a VA examiner regarding the severity of these conditions absent the ameliorative effects of medication.
The deciding factor: The November 2023 VA examinations do not establish the 'level of functioning without the use of medication', which is required for accurate evaluation under applicable diagnostic codes.
- Claimed conditions
- right knee strain with arthritis and patellar tendinitis, flexion, right knee strain with arthritis and patellar tendinitis, extension, lumbosacral strain, left lower extremity radiculopathy, sciatic nerve, right lower extremity radiculopathy, sciatic nerve
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 24, 2025
- Citation
- A25026923
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 lumbosacral strain, finding that the Veteran's low back injury occurred during a period of active duty for training (ADT) and continued therefrom.
- Partly granted
The Board denied earlier effective dates for the grant of service connection and granted initial 40 percent ratings for left upper extremity CTS, right lower extremity radiculopathy, and left lower extremity radiculopathy.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 20 percent rating for right leg sciatica with radiculopathy pain and paresthesia, but denied increased ratings for PTSD, lumbosacral strain, left wrist limitation of motion with ganglion cyst, and service connection for headaches, unspecified. Several issues were remanded.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's award of total disability based on individual unemployability (TDIU) is granted effective from April 15, 2017, solely based on his unspecified anxiety disorder. The claim for an earlier effective date for service connection for right lower extremity radiculopathy was denied.
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