The Veteran's claims for secondary service connection are remanded as the VA examiners did not adequately address whether her current disabilities were caused or aggravated by her service-connected left ankle disability.,The Veteran is seeking to establish that her cervical spine, right hip, bilateral knee, and right leg (claimed as leg length inequality) disabilities are related to her service-connected left ankle disability. The Board finds the VA examiners' opinions inadequate in this regard.
The deciding factor: VA examiners did not provide sufficient rationale for their opinions regarding whether the Veteran's current disabilities were caused or aggravated by her service-connected left ankle disability.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Knee Disability, Cervical Spine Disability, Left Ankle Disability, Right Hip Disability, Right Leg Disability (Leg Length Inequality)
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 12, 2019
- Citation
- 19111153
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,088 · Granted: 33% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 19111153.
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 cervical spine disability, right knee strain (painful motion), and right knee instability are now rated at 30 percent effective August 16, 2017.
- Denied
The Board has denied service connection for the claimed conditions as there is no persuasive evidence of current diagnoses or in-service incurrence or aggravation.
- Denied
The Board denied an increased rating for the Veteran's right hip disability, finding that her current 10 percent rating adequately reflects her symptoms and limitations.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for service connection for TMD, cervical spine disability, and FSAD have been denied.,An earlier effective date prior to August 2, 2022, for the award of service connection for these conditions has also been denied.
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