The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his low back, left knee, and right knee disabilities due to inadequate examination reports that did not account for the ameliorative effects of medication.
The deciding factor: The examinations were insufficient as they did not consider the impact of the Veteran's medications on his disability levels.
- Claimed conditions
- intervertebral disc syndrome with degenerative arthritis changes of the lumbar spine (low back disability), patellofemoral syndrome of the left knee (left knee disability), right knee degenerative arthritis and meniscal tear (right knee disability)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 22, 2026
- Citation
- A26006184
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 A26006184.
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 remands the issues related to the Veteran's right and left knee disabilities for another attempt to schedule a VA examination due to the Veteran's failure to attend scheduled examinations without good cause.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and TDIU have been dismissed due to the withdrawal of his representative. The Board has also remanded cases involving right and left knee disabilities, as well as a TDIU claim.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for migraines, cervical disability, and left knee disability were denied. The rating for migraines was not granted as the attacks did not meet the criteria for a higher rating. For cervical disability, the claim was denied as the current rating already reflects the maximum schedular rating. For left knee disability, no specific rating was assigned.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
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