The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his bilateral ankle disabilities due to inadequate VA examinations and the need for a new examination that includes testing of range of motion, flare-ups, and additional functional limitations.
The deciding factor: The Court found the VA examinations inadequate as they did not fully discuss the limitation of motion of the Veteran’s ankles during flare-ups or provide an estimate of additional loss of range of motion due to such flares.
- Claimed conditions
- myofascial pain syndrome with lateral laxity, left ankle, myofascial pain syndrome with lateral laxity, right ankle
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 26, 2019
- Citation
- 19132985
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 hip osteoarthritis and right hip osteoarthritis as secondary to the Veteran's now service-connected knee disabilities, but denied service connection for a variety of other conditions including bilateral ankle, shoulder, foot, mood disorder, tinnitus, hyperlipidemia, and knees.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for bilateral foot and ankle conditions to correct a duty to assist error, requiring medical opinions on their relationship to the Veteran's service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for a right ankle disability to obtain an addendum opinion.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the veteran's claims for service connection for left ankle, left knee, low back, right ankle, and right knee disabilities secondary to bilateral pes planus due to a need for additional medical opinions.
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