The appeals are being remanded due to the need for additional consideration regarding flare-ups of the Veteran's spine and ankle conditions.
The deciding factor: The VA examinations did not fully comply with the requirements in Sharp v. Shulkin, 29 Vet. App. 26, as they did not elicit sufficient information about the severity, frequency, and duration of any flare-ups and their impact on functional loss.
- Claimed conditions
- spinal stenosis with spinal fusion, right ankle avulsion fracture
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 13, 2018
- Citation
- 18157376
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 18157376.
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 Board has granted service connection for right knee bursitis status post mycobacterium infection. The other issues of service connection are remanded.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities rendered him unable to secure and follow substantially gainful employment prior to November 27, 2016. The Board granted a TDIU on an extraschedular basis.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's right ankle avulsion fracture is rated at 10 percent, and his thoracolumbar spinal stenosis with spinal fusion is rated at 20 percent. The issues of a compensable rating for bladder disturbance associated with the Veteran’s thoracolumbar spine disorder and entitlement to TDIU are remanded.,The Veteran's right ankle avulsion fracture remains rated at 10 percent, while his thoracolumbar spinal stenosis is rated at 20 percent. The issues of a compensable rating for bladder disturbance associated with the Veteran’s thoracolumbar spine disorder and entitlement to TDIU are remanded.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's appeals for increased ratings for his right ankle avulsion fracture and thoracolumbar spinal stenosis, as well as his claim for TDIU due to additional development of evidence and issuance of an addendum opinion regarding flare-ups.
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