The Board has denied the Veteran's appeals because he failed to meet the first prong of service connection. The Board will now remand for additional examination and opinion regarding his left knee and right knee disorders.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran did not have a current disability in his right ankle or coccyx, and denied his claims based on this finding. For his low back disorder, he was granted a 10% rating from July 1, 2013 to November 3, 2014, but denied for greater than 10% thereafter.
- Claimed conditions
- Right ankle disorder, Coccyx disorder, Low back disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- October 24, 2018
- Citation
- 18144436
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 18144436.
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 a 20 percent rating for the Veteran's left knee strain, service connection for right ear hearing loss, and service connection for a right ankle disorder. Other claims were denied or remanded.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a low back disorder to correct duty to assist errors, as the previous VA examinations and opinions are inadequate.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss, service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, and service connection for right knee and right ankle disorders.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for hearing loss, psychiatric disorder, neck disorder, and radiculopathy of both upper and lower extremities to correct duty-to-assist errors.
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