The Veteran's appeal for a higher rating for his service-connected left ankle condition is remanded due to the need for a VA examination.
The deciding factor: A VA examination was last conducted in March 2017 and does not contain necessary findings as per 38 C.F.R. § 4.59, which requires testing of joints for pain on both active and passive motion, in weight-bearing and nonweight-bearing, and with the range of the opposite undamaged joint.
- Claimed conditions
- degenerative arthritis of the left ankle
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 17, 2019
- Citation
- 19130123
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 left ankle instability as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected left ankle disability and hypertension, but denied increased ratings for the left ankle disability and other forms of arthritis.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for posttraumatic stress disorder and left ear hearing loss, while dismissing the appeals for atopic dermatitis with folliculitis, migraine headaches, right ear hearing loss, degenerative arthritis of both ankles, and left hip coxa saltans.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for tinnitus and various musculoskeletal conditions, finding that the evidence did not support a link between these conditions and the Veteran's active duty service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remanded all issues to address a duty-to-assist error and locate missing private treatment records.
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