The Board has decided to remand the claims of service connection for left and right knee pain due to a lack of consideration of the Veteran's lay statements regarding his in-service parachute jumps and gate exit injury. The case will be returned to the AOJ for further examination and opinion.
The deciding factor: The absence of evidence alone cannot serve as the sole basis for an opinion; the Veteran's lay statements must also be considered.
- Claimed conditions
- left knee strain, right knee strain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 19, 2026
- Citation
- A26024892
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 A26024892.
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.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the appeals for service connection of various conditions due to untimely filing of the appeal.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for service connection for left knee strain, right knee strain, shin splints of the right leg, and shin splints of the left leg are being remanded due to a failure to obtain VA examinations and medical nexus opinions.
- Denied
The Veteran's initial evaluations for left knee strain, limitation of extension and flexion were both denied as the evidence did not show that his symptoms warranted a rating higher than 10 percent.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal was dismissed due to their death during the pendency of the appeal. The Board cannot issue a decision on the merits as they have no jurisdiction.
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