The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional examinations and opinions to address the current nature and severity of his bilateral knee disabilities, as well as whether or not his claimed ankle disabilities are related to service-connected knee disabilities.
The deciding factor: Additional medical examination and opinion are needed to determine the current status of the Veteran's bilateral knee and ankle conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral ankle arthritis, bilateral knee chondromalacia with degenerative joint disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 1, 2017
- Citation
- 1702719
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 1702719.
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 a right shoulder disability and remanded the claims for bilateral ankle arthritis, sleep apnea, bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome, erectile dysfunction, degenerative disc disease, cervical, bilateral plantar fasciitis with arthritis and heel spurs, and gastroesophageal reflux disease.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's claims for service connection for bone disease, hemorrhoids, neck arthritis, back arthritis, bilateral hand arthritis, bilateral knee arthritis, and bilateral ankle arthritis have been dismissed due to the Veteran's withdrawal of his appeal. The claim for hypertension has been granted.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral ankle arthritis as secondary to his service-connected disability of pes planus.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral foot arthritis and bilateral ankle arthritis, finding that there was no evidence of an in-service occurrence or a link to service.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.