The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for an initial rating greater than 10 percent for a right ankle disability and entitlement to TDIU due to inadequate VA examinations in adjudicating his claim. The Veteran will need a new VA examination to determine the current severity of his service-connected right ankle disability.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the previous decision was based on inadequate VA examinations, specifically those conducted in 2009 and 2012 which did not conduct range of motion testing under passive motion, weight-bearing, and nonweight-bearing conditions as required by Correia v. McDonald (28 Vet. App. 158).
- Claimed conditions
- Right ankle disability, Bilateral pes planus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 18, 2018
- Citation
- 18158462
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 18158462.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date of January 10, 1997, for a 10% disability rating for his right ankle disability is denied as there was no CUE in the previous decisions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding whether the Veteran's right ankle disability is related to his service. The VA examiner must provide an opinion on this matter.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the Veteran's current bilateral pes planus is not service-connected due to a duty-to-assist error, and remands the case for further examination and opinion.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has dismissed the appeals to reduce disability ratings for bilateral hearing loss and right ankle disabilities. The case is REMANDED for a VA examination regarding the service connection claim for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD.
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