The veteran's appeal is for a higher evaluation of his service-connected right ankle disability, which was initially granted in February 1995 with a 10 percent rating. The case has been remanded multiple times due to missing x-ray films and the need for further examination.
The deciding factor: The case requires additional medical evidence regarding the veteran's ankle condition, specifically whether he has malunion or nonunion of the tibia or fibula related to his service-connected disability.
- Claimed conditions
- right ankle instability with post-traumatic arthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- February 1, 2006
- Citation
- 0602907
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,458 · Granted: 24% (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 0602907.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for a higher initial rating for right ankle instability with post-traumatic arthritis is being remanded due to the need to obtain x-ray reports and radiologist notes from a March 2006 VA examination.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim for a higher initial evaluation for right ankle instability with post-traumatic arthritis, as it was determined that there was no evidence of malunion or nonunion of the tibia or fibula in the July 1994 x-rays.
- Denied
The VA denied a higher evaluation for the veteran's service-connected right ankle disability, which was initially granted as 10 percent disabling and later re-evaluated as 20 percent disabling effective from December 22, 1990.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
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