The veteran is seeking an initial compensable rating for his service-connected left ankle sprain. The RO has granted service connection but assigned a noncompensable rating. The case is being remanded to obtain updated medical evidence and determine the current severity of the disability.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner needs to assess the current level of disability based on recent clinical findings and consider all relevant factors, including pain and functional loss.
- Claimed conditions
- left ankle sprain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- February 23, 2004
- Citation
- 0404985
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 292 · Granted: 21% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0404985.
What this means for you
A remand sends an issue back for more development, often a new examination or missing records. It does not award the benefit or decide the final outcome. The original decision explains the additional work ordered.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's current right and left ankle disabilities are related to repetitive parachute jumps during service, granting service connection for these conditions.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's claims for service connection for left ankle sprain, right ankle sprain, anxiety with situational type phobia, left hip strain, left knee strain, right knee strain, and lumbar strain are granted effective March 3, 2022.,An earlier effective date of March 3, 2022, is assigned for the Veteran's service connection claims.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's left ankle condition, diagnosed as a left ankle sprain and degenerative arthritis, is currently rated at 10 percent. The Board found that the evidence did not show marked limitation of motion or ankylosis, which would warrant a higher rating. Therefore, the claim for a higher rating was denied.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities did not prevent her from securing and maintaining substantial, gainful employment prior to May 1, 2021. Her earnings exceeded the poverty threshold for each year during this period.
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