The Board remands the claims for increased ratings of the Veteran's bilateral knee disabilities to correct pre-decisional duty to assist errors, including obtaining any outstanding non-VA treatment records and clarifying the Veteran's surgical history.
The deciding factor: Remand is necessary due to pre-decisional duty to assist errors regarding the Veteran's surgical history and outstanding treatment records from Alvarado Hospital.
- Claimed conditions
- right knee total joint replacement, left knee total joint replacement
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 11, 2025
- Citation
- A25033956
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,044 · Granted: 21% (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 A25033956.
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 Veteran's hepatitis B, left knee total joint replacement, right knee total joint replacement, and left knee surgical scar claims are remanded for further development.
- Granted
The Veteran's TDIU and DEA eligibility are granted effective January 1, 2017. The decision is based on the Veteran's service-connected disabilities impacting his ability to secure and follow a substantially gainful occupation.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the issues of increased ratings for left knee total joint replacement, painful scar of the left knee, and multiple scars of the left lower extremity. The Veteran's TDIU claim was granted beginning December 1, 2010.
- Denied
The petition to reopen the claim of entitlement to service connection for a left hip disability based on new and material evidence was denied. The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for right and left knee disabilities were remanded.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
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.