The Board remands the claim for a new VA medical opinion to address whether the appellant's right knee patellofemoral pain syndrome is caused or aggravated by his service-connected left knee strain with degenerative arthritis.
The deciding factor: The September 2020 VA medical opinion did not adequately address aggravation of the right knee disability by the left knee and was remanded to obtain a new opinion consistent with the standard set out in Spicer v. McDonough, 61 F.4th 1360 (Fed. Cir. 2023).
- Claimed conditions
- right knee patellofemoral pain syndrome
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 16, 2025
- Citation
- A25052667
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 a 30 percent rating for right knee patellofemoral pain syndrome, right knee instability, and separate 40 percent rating for right knee limitation of extension prior to July 27, 2019.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 40 percent rating for lumbosacral strain and denied or remanded the other issues on appeal.
- Dismissed
The veteran withdrew all pending appeals on April 28, 2025.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matter for additional development, specifically to obtain retrospective opinions regarding the severity of the Veteran's right knee patellofemoral pain syndrome during flareups.
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