The Veteran's claims for right and left ankle disabilities, right and left knee disabilities, and an acquired psychiatric disorder are remanded due to inadequate medical opinions in the November 2016 letter from Dr. T.R.F.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found that the November 2016 letter from Dr. T.R.F. was inadequate to adjudicate these claims as it did not provide supporting rationale and failed to address prior diagnoses of ankle and knee conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- Right and left ankle disabilities, Right and left knee disabilities, Acquired psychiatric disorder (including PTSD and anxiety state unspecified)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 7, 2018
- Citation
- 18101436
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 18101436.
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 disabilities have prevented him from securing or following substantially gainful employment since October 1, 2009. The Board has granted an effective earlier date of October 1, 2009 for a TDIU.
- Granted
The Veteran's TDIU claim is granted with an effective date of July 1, 2012. The Board found that the Veteran was unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation due to service-connected right and left knee disabilities as of February 3, 2014, but stopped working in late June 2012.
- Denied
The Veteran's appeal was denied as he did not meet the criteria for attorney fees based on past-due benefits awarded in a June 2024 rating decision. The appellant is not entitled to fees because the initial decision granting past-due benefits was not reviewed by an attorney or agent.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for special monthly compensation (SMC) as she did not meet the criteria for SMC under 38 U.S.C. § 1114(s).
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