The Board remands the claims for increased ratings for left sciatic nerve peripheral neuropathy, left and right knee disabilities, and right ankle disability to obtain new examinations that do not consider the ameliorative effects of medications.
The deciding factor: Remand is required due to the need for new examinations without considering the ameliorative effects of medications used by the Veteran.
- Claimed conditions
- Left sciatic nerve peripheral neuropathy, Left knee status-post complex tear medial meniscus and degenerative tear lateral meniscus, chronic synovitis, and post-traumatic arthritis, status-post two arthroscopies, Right knee strain, Right ankle Achilles tendonitis, Left ankle Achilles tendon tenderness
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 18, 2025
- Citation
- A25053659
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 denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, while remanding claims for depression, anxiety, sleep disorder, right knee strain, left knee strain, and lumbar spine strain.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection and increased ratings for peripheral neuropathy in the upper and lower extremities, as well as sciatic nerve peripheral neuropathy, due to deficiencies in the current evidence.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss, bilateral tinnitus, facial numbness (Bell's palsy), gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and right knee strain. The claims for a left knee strain, major depressive disorder with anxious distress, cervical neck strain, lumbosacral strain, and bilateral foot disability were remanded.
- Denied
The appeal for an increased rating for left hip, the claims for entitlement to an earlier effective date and an increased rating for right knee strain, and the appeal for an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for left shoulder strain were dismissed. The claim for a 40 percent rating from June 24, 2021 for degenerative disc disease was granted.
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