The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for bilateral knee and hand conditions due to insufficient medical opinions linking these conditions to service. The VA is instructed to obtain addendum opinions addressing the etiology of the Veteran's bilateral knee and hand conditions.
The deciding factor: The VA must provide an adequate opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's bilateral knee and hand conditions, considering his service treatment records and lay statements.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative Disease of the Right Knee, Degenerative Disease of the Left Knee, Osteoarthritis of the Right Hand, Osteoarthritis of the Left Hand
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 23, 2026
- Citation
- A26038041
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 A26038041.
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 Veteran's right knee and left foot conditions have been granted service connection.,A 10 percent rating for degenerative disease of the left knee has been restored effective September 2, 2016.
- Denied
The Veteran's diabetes mellitus disability is rated at 20 percent, and his osteoarthritis of the right hand is rated at 10 percent. The appeal for a higher rating for diabetes mellitus was denied.
- Denied
The Veteran's right knee degenerative disease with locking and crepitus has been manifested by pain, tenderness, weakness, crepitus, guarding of movement, some limitation of flexion but with flexion greater than 30 degrees. The Board finds that the disability does not warrant a rating in excess of 10 percent.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the veteran's claimed conditions, including degenerative disc disease of the cervical and lumbar spine, left wrist disability (residuals of a fractured left wrist), and right elbow disorder (epicondylitis), were not incurred or aggravated by active service. The evidence does not establish a link between these conditions and his military service.
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