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
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 926 · Granted: 33% (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 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 Veteran's service connection claims for lumbosacral strain, asthma, melasma and hydradenitis, hypertension, an acquired psychiatric disorder (claimed as depression, anxiety, and stress), left shoulder disorder, right shoulder disorder, left knee disorder, a left foot disorder, and IBS have been granted. The remaining issues are remanded.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew their appeal for service connection of a lumbosacral strain, resulting in the dismissal of this issue.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's lumbosacral strain with degenerative arthritis, finding that it is related to his in-service injury. The claimant did not contest this decision.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a lumbar spine disability, including degenerative arthritis and IVDS. The decision is based on the Veteran's in-service injury during active duty and his continuous symptoms since then.
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