The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for arthritis of the left hand, right hand, left knee, and right knee as secondary to service-connected hepatitis C (HCV) due to procedural errors in obtaining medical opinions addressing whether HCV caused or aggravated these conditions.
The deciding factor: The VA clinician's opinion was inadequate because it did not provide a clear rationale for why the Veteran's HCV would not aggravate his diagnosed left shoulder, bilateral hands, and bilateral knees conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- Arthritis of left hand, Arthritis of right hand, Arthritis of left knee, Arthritis of right knee, Arthritis of left shoulder
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 12, 2026
- Citation
- A26002647
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 A26002647.
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 an initial 20 percent rating for the Veteran's right knee disability, including arthritis.
- Denied
The appeal concerning the earlier effective date for the award of a 60% rating for total right knee arthroplasty is dismissed. The Veteran's other claims and benefits are addressed, with some granted and others denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including arthritis in his hands and fingers, a psychiatric disorder, arthritis of his hips, cervical spine, left knee, wrists, and right knee. The issues of arthritis of the bilateral hips, cervical spine, left knee, and bilateral wrists have been remanded due to insufficient medical opinions. The issue of hypertension has also been remanded for further examination.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded several issues related to the Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including his back condition and knee conditions. The primary reasons for remand are due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the nature of the Veteran's back condition and the current severity of his left and right knee disabilities.
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