The Veteran's claim for an increased rating of his right ankle disability is granted, with a 20% rating effective from April 25, 2018.,The Veteran's claim for a compensable rating for HIV-related illness is remanded due to the need for further evaluation and consideration.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found that the Veteran’s symptoms most closely approximate the criteria for a 20% rating under DC 5271, which requires marked limited motion of the ankle.,There is insufficient evidence regarding the etiology and severity of the Veteran's PTSD to determine if he warrants a higher initial evaluation.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative arthritis of the right ankle, HIV-related illness, Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 14, 2019
- Citation
- 19146651
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 Board granted service connection for PTSD, resolving reasonable doubt in the Veteran's favor and finding that his PTSD is related to an in-service military sexual trauma (MST) during a period of ACDUTRA.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of May 17, 2019, for a 70 percent disability rating for PTSD but denied earlier effective dates for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus.
- Partly granted
The Board granted readjudication of previously denied claims for service connection for PTSD and COPD, while remanding other issues including entitlement to service connection for an eye disorder, hypertension, tinnitus, a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss, TDIU, and an initial rating for PTSD.
- Denied
The appeal for service connection for PTSD was dismissed, and the claims for a compensable rating for the lower back scar, service connection for COPD, and peripheral artery disease were denied.
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