The Board remands the claims for service connection for left knee instability, right knee instability, and bilateral plantar fasciitis to obtain additional medical opinions.
The deciding factor: A pre-decisional duty to assist error was found as the examiner did not provide an opinion on whether the Veteran's conditions were aggravated by his service-connected back conditions or related to his active-duty service.
- Claimed conditions
- left knee instability, right knee instability, bilateral plantar fasciitis
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 2, 2025
- Citation
- A25040577
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.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the appeal for service connection for bilateral knee instability and denied service connection for right and left knee instability, finding no nexus between the Veteran's knee conditions and his service or service-connected disabilities.
- Granted
The Board granted a separate rating of 10 percent for bilateral plantar fasciitis effective February 1, 2023.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issues of entitlement to increased ratings for a thoracolumbar spine disorder and bilateral knee disorders due to the need for additional VA examinations.
- Partly granted
The Board denied an increased rating for right knee strain and instability but granted a separate 10 percent rating for right knee limitation of extension from November 25, 2024.
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This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.