The veteran's claim for an increased evaluation for traumatic arthritis of the right ankle is being remanded due to a failure to comply with the Veterans Claims Assistance Act of 2000 (VCAA). Additional development, including obtaining medical records and scheduling a VA examination, is required.
The deciding factor: The VCAA requires additional development to ensure compliance with notification and assistance requirements set forth by the law.
- Claimed conditions
- Traumatic Arthritis of the Right Ankle
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 2, 2003
- Citation
- 0310781
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,440 · Granted: 30% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 0310781.
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 Veteran's appeals for increased ratings of PTSD and right ankle traumatic arthritis were dismissed due to the Veteran withdrawing his appeals.
- Denied
The Veteran's initial disability ratings for traumatic arthritis of the right ankle, patellofemoral syndrome with degenerative arthritis of both knees, and instability of both knees have been denied. The Veteran is currently rated at 10% for each condition.
- Denied
The Veteran's right ankle disability has been rated at 20 percent since October 15, 2009. The Board finds that a higher rating is not warranted based on the evidence of record.
- Denied
The Veteran's right ankle disability is currently rated at 20 percent, the maximum schedular rating available under Diagnostic Code 5271 for limitation of motion. The evidence does not support a higher evaluation.
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