The Board remands the veteran's claims for higher initial disability ratings for left and right knee conditions to correct a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
The deciding factor: The AOJ failed to request relevant private treatment records despite the Veteran's indication of seeking such an opinion, necessitating a remand to ensure compliance with VA's duty to assist.
- Claimed conditions
- left knee anterior cruciate ligament tear, right knee status post anterior cruciate ligament repair and meniscectomy with degenerative arthritis
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 30, 2025
- Citation
- A25048265
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,592 · Granted: 19% (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 A25048265.
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 has remanded the case due to an inadequate statement of reasons or bases in the December 2024 decision, and a need for further development regarding whether the Veteran's left knee disability is equivalent to ankylosis.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the appeals for service connection of bilateral foot pain, lower back pain, right knee pain, and left knee anterior cruciate ligament tear as they were concurrent with a request for higher-level review.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for service connection for various conditions, finding that no evidence supported an earlier date of claim or entitlement.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal for an increased rating for his right total knee replacement has been withdrawn.,An effective date of July 11, 2022, is granted for the award of service connection for right lower extremity radiculopathy.,The claim for an earlier effective date for left knee anterior cruciate ligament tear and osteoarthritis remains denied as there was no pending or unadjudicated claim prior to June 28, 2022.,Service connection is granted for the left medial malleus fracture status post open reduction internal fixation.,An increased rating of 10 percent is denied for right knee instability before March 22, 2010.,An increased rating of 10 percent is denied for left knee anterior cruciate ligament tear.,An increased rating of 10 percent is denied for low back strain with scoliosis and degenerative joint diseases with intervertebral disc syndrome.,A compensable disability rating is denied for right lower extremity radiculopathy.
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