The Board remands the claims for service connection for bilateral knee and low back disabilities on a secondary basis due to an inadequate VA examination.
The deciding factor: The October 2023 VA examiner's opinions only address causation in the context of secondary service connection and are therefore inadequate, constituting a pre-decisional duty-to-assist error.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral knee disability, low back disability, to include degenerative arthritis and IVDS
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 1, 2025
- Citation
- A25029653
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 service connection claim for a bilateral knee disability to correct a pre-decisional duty to assist error, including scheduling an additional VA examination.
- 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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for the veteran's claimed conditions, including right shoulder arthritis, left shoulder arthritis, right hip condition, left hip condition, low back disability, and bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy, as there was no evidence of in-service injury or illness related to these conditions.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the appeals for service connection for a bilateral knee disability, bilateral upper and lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, lumbar spine disability, cervical spine disability, and chronic pain syndrome due to untimely notices of disagreement.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.