The Veteran's service-connected right ankle disability is being remanded for additional examination and development due to the need for updated evidence of his current condition.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner was unable to conduct all required range of motion testing, necessitating a new examination to assess the current severity of the Veteran's right ankle disability.
- Claimed conditions
- right ankle osteoarthritis, distal fibula fracture
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 11, 2019
- Citation
- 19128421
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 service connection for a headache disability and assigned ratings of 70 percent, 20 percent, and 10 percent for generalized anxiety disorder, right ankle osteoarthritis, and right gamekeepers thumb respectively. The claims for increased ratings for sinusitis, bilateral hearing loss, hypertension, and the remaining conditions were denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the veteran's claims for further development, including additional VA examinations to assess the current severity and manifestations of his service-connected left hip, left knee, right knee, and right ankle disabilities.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for left ankle osteoarthritis with tendinitis and tarsal tunnel syndrome, right ankle osteoarthritis, and an effective date of December 16, 2015, but no earlier, for the increased rating of 30 percent for bilateral pes planus with calluses.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for increased ratings for the Veteran's bilateral ankle and right knee disabilities to obtain a medical opinion that discounts any ameliorative effects of medication.
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