The Veteran's claims for service connection and increased ratings are being remanded due to the need for additional development, including obtaining medical records and conducting examinations.
The deciding factor: Further examination is required to determine the current nature and severity of the Veteran's ankle disorder and psychiatric condition, as well as whether her knee conditions have worsened since previous evaluations. Additionally, VA treatment records from specific mental health treatment periods are needed for consideration in adjudicating her claims.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Ankle Disorder, Acquired Psychiatric Disorder (Mood Disorder secondary to a general medical condition)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 31, 2017
- Citation
- 1736630
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 1736630.
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 service-connected conditions, including PTSD and multiple orthopedic disabilities, have rendered her unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment since March 6, 2013.
- Granted
The Veteran's claims of service connection for PTSD, lumbar spine disorder, bilateral hip disorder, bilateral ankle disorder, and bilateral foot disorder are reopened. Service connection is granted for PTSD but denied for a heart disorder. The issues regarding the relationship between service-connected knee disability and the Veteran's lumbar spine, bilateral hip, bilateral ankle, and bilateral foot disorders are remanded.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the cases of service connection for bilateral ankle and knee disorders due to insufficient development in prior decisions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims due to incomplete information regarding his service stressors and other medical records. The Veteran will be provided another opportunity to provide authorization for additional treatment records, as well as requests for verification of alleged stressors.
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