The Board has determined that remand is necessary for new medical etiology opinions to address the Veteran's claims of bilateral shin disabilities and left ankle and arch disability, as well as obtaining outstanding records from his service in the Army National Guard and as a reserve of the Army.
The deciding factor: The VA examiners must consider the Veteran's lay statements regarding the onset of his shin and ankle injuries during active duty and provide opinions that take these statements into account.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral shin disabilities, left ankle and arch disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 29, 2017
- Citation
- 1735905
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 1735905.
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 Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to missing service personnel records (SPRs). The claims will be reconsidered after obtaining the SPRs and additional medical opinions are provided.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that further development is needed before the claims can be adjudicated, including obtaining medical opinions and verifying the Veteran's periods of active duty for training.
- 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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