The Board has remanded the case for further development, including a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of any current left ankle disability.
The deciding factor: The appellant's claim requires additional evidence due to incomplete documentation and need for clarification on service connection theory.
- Claimed conditions
- degenerative changes, left ankle
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 30, 2004
- Citation
- 0408181
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 0408181.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for left hip osteoarthritis and right hip osteoarthritis as secondary to the Veteran's now service-connected knee disabilities, but denied service connection for a variety of other conditions including bilateral ankle, shoulder, foot, mood disorder, tinnitus, hyperlipidemia, and knees.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for bilateral foot and ankle conditions to correct a duty to assist error, requiring medical opinions on their relationship to the Veteran's service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for left ankle, right knee, and left knee as secondary to the service-connected right ankle due to a lack of development by the AOJ.
- Partly granted
The Board denied an earlier effective date for the award of service connection for hearing loss and granted an effective date of August 5, 2021, for the award of service connection for chronic sinusitis. The claims for increased ratings and additional service connection were also denied or remanded.
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