The Board has remanded the veteran's claim for service connection of traumatic arthritis in his ankles due to further development being required. The issue is whether this condition is proximately due to, the result of, or aggravated by his already service-connected cavus varus deformity of the right foot with hammertoes.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner concluded that the veteran's mid- and hind-foot abnormalities are unrelated to and were not aggravated by his military service. However, the issue is whether the traumatic arthritis in the right ankle (again, omitting the left ankle as a result of the below-the-knee amputation) is proximately due to, the result of, or aggravated by the already service-connected cavus varus deformity of the right foot with hammertoes.
- Claimed conditions
- traumatic arthritis of the ankles
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 26, 2006
- Citation
- 0615570
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,669 · Granted: 23% (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 0615570.
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 Board has granted service connection for traumatic arthritis of the knees, but denied service connection for traumatic arthritis of the ankles.
- Remanded (sent back)
The veteran's claim for service connection for traumatic arthritis of the knees and ankles is being remanded due to a need for further development, including a VA examination.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's right shoulder disability and migraines/chronic headaches are remanded for additional development due to insufficient opinions on the etiology of her conditions.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's lumbar spine arthritis is aggravated by his service-connected bilateral knee disabilities, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
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