The Board remands the claims for service connection for a low back condition, right knee osteoarthritis, and GERD and hiatal hernia to obtain additional medical opinions.
The deciding factor: The January 2024 VA medical opinions are found inadequate due to reliance on an absence of records and failure to address lay statements regarding continuity of symptomatology.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine (low back condition), Right knee osteoarthritis, Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and hiatal hernia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 21, 2025
- Citation
- A25045554
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.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for plantar fasciitis on the right and left foot, left and right ankle strain, left and right knee osteoarthritis, and left and right hip strain, all secondary to service-connected back and bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy disabilities with weight gain/obesity as an intermediate step.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, left and right knee osteoarthritis, and a TDIU prior to January 7, 2019.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an initial evaluation of 20 percent, but not in excess thereof, prior to April 9, 2012 for degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine and denied evaluations in excess of 20 percent from that date. The claims for increased ratings for left and right knee osteoarthritis were also denied.
- Denied
The Board denied compensation benefits for prostate biopsy and colonoscopy residuals, as well as service connection for left ankle pain, right ankle pain, left elbow arthritis, right elbow arthritis, and right knee osteoarthritis.
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