The Board remands the claim for service connection of osteoarthritis of the right hip as secondary to a service-connected condition due to an inadequate medical opinion.
The deciding factor: The opinion accompanying the examination is inadequate because it only addressed secondary causation, not secondary aggravation, and thus a pre-decisional duty to assist error exists.
- Claimed conditions
- Osteoarthritis of the right hip
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 9, 2025
- Citation
- A25033040
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 claims for additional development, including obtaining a new VA examination to address the inadequacies of previous examinations and obtain any relevant private treatment records.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, osteoarthritis of the right hip, and right renal atrophy with renal insufficiency as secondary to the Veteran's left knee disability. The Board also granted a 10 percent rating for instability of the left knee.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for right lower extremity sciatica associated with the Veteran's service-connected lumbosacral spine strain, but remanded claims for service connection for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and sleep apnea.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that his lung cancer was related to his service-connected melanoma.
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