The Board has found that new and material evidence has been submitted to reopen the claim of service connection for bilateral ankle sprain. The issue of service connection for degenerative disc disease, status-post laminectomy, of the lumbar spine (low back disorder) remains unresolved as there is insufficient evidence provided by Dr. Reimer.
The deciding factor: The statement from Dr. Reimer does not provide a clear opinion on whether the Veteran's current low back disability is causally related to his service.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Ankle Sprain, Degenerative Disc Disease of the Lumbar Spine (Low Back Disorder)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 27, 2012
- Citation
- 1229356
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 1229356.
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 Veteran's radiculopathy of the right and left lower extremities, PTSD, and low back disorder were granted initial disability ratings. The Veteran's PTSD was denied a higher rating.
- Granted
The Veteran's asthma was granted a 10% rating from November 24, 2011 to November 13, 2013 and a 30% rating thereafter. The bilateral ankle sprain disabilities were granted a 20% rating starting March 4, 2014.,The Veteran's asthma required intermittent inhalational or oral bronchodilator therapy prior to November 13, 2013 but daily use of inhalational bronchodilator therapy and FEV-1/FVC of less than 70% from that date. The bilateral ankle sprain disabilities were manifested by moderate limitation of motion.
- 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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
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