The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for service connection and increased rating for his right hip strain and right knee disability due to incomplete review of VA treatment records, inadequate medical opinions, and pre-decisional duty to assist errors.
The deciding factor: Incomplete review of VA treatment records and inadequate medical opinions led to the decision being remanded.
- Claimed conditions
- right hip strain, right knee chondromalacia patella, right knee anterior cruciate ligament sprain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 24, 2026
- Citation
- A26016416
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 A26016416.
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 several claims for further action, including effective date determinations and service connection determinations. The Veteran's service records from Portsmouth Naval Hospital are requested to be obtained.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for service connection of his right hip disability is denied as the earliest date of entitlement is April 21, 2025.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's current right hip disability is likely related to his service, granting him service connection for a right hip disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for tension headaches, cervical strain, lumbosacral strain, right hip strain, and left hip strain due to inadequate opinions regarding whether these conditions are aggravated by service-connected disabilities.
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