The Board is remanding the claims of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, a left foot disorder, a left ankle disability, and a laceration on the back of head. The TDIU claim is also being remanded.,The Board is remanding the claim for a rating in excess of 10 percent for a left knee disorder due to inadequate VA examination opinions regarding direct service incurrence and aggravation.,The TBI claim is being remanded as well, requiring a new VA examination to assess current severity.
The deciding factor: The Board finds that the existing medical opinions are insufficient to address all theories of entitlement for these claims. Therefore, further examinations are needed to obtain adequate etiology opinions.,The existing VA examinations do not include range of motion testing in both active and passive motions as well as comparisons between service-connected and non-service-connected joints. The examiner should provide such information.,The TBI claim requires a new examination due to the need for an assessment of current severity.
- Claimed conditions
- left foot disorder, left ankle disability, laceration on the back of head, acquired psychiatric disorder (including PTSD)
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 11, 2018
- Citation
- 18156174
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 18156174.
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 expanded the scope of the claim to include any mental health disorder raised by the record and has remanded for additional development regarding service connection for left leg, ankle, and psychiatric disabilities.
- Granted
The Veteran's service connection claims for lumbosacral strain, asthma, melasma and hydradenitis, hypertension, an acquired psychiatric disorder (claimed as depression, anxiety, and stress), left shoulder disorder, right shoulder disorder, left knee disorder, a left foot disorder, and IBS have been granted. The remaining issues are remanded.
- Granted
The Board has granted the claims for service connection for anxiety, depression, and an acquired psychiatric disorder (including PTSD), finding that new and relevant evidence supports these claims.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for left, right ankle disabilities, left and right hip disabilities, left and right shin splints, and left and right knee disabilities due to inadequate nexus opinions in the VA examination reports. The Veteran contends that her current disabilities are related to injuries sustained during basic training.
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