The Board remands the claims for service connection for left and right hip joint replacements due to duty-to-assist errors, including incomplete documentation of military service dates and a lack of medical opinion addressing the Veteran's contention that his congenital hip condition was worsened by military service.
The deciding factor: The remand is necessary to obtain additional information regarding the Veteran's complete military service dates and an addendum medical opinion addressing his theory of entitlement.
- Claimed conditions
- left hip joint replacement, right hip joint replacement
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 5, 2025
- Citation
- A25040910
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 10 percent rating for the Veteran's right hip flexion limitation of motion and a 70 percent rating for his right hip joint replacement, but denied higher ratings for other conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for an adequate VA examination to address the etiology of the Veteran's right hip joint replacement.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for right hip joint replacement, left hip strain, and bilateral knee strain based on the Veteran's credible lay statements of continuous symptoms since service.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew his appeals for service connection, rating increase, and reduction in rating, and the Board has no further jurisdiction to consider these matters.
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