The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to insufficient medical opinions and need for additional evidence. The Veteran's right ankle lateral collateral ligament sprain, left ankle disorder, and right arm glenohumeral joint osteoarthritis are all being reviewed for secondary service connection.
The deciding factor: The VA examiners were not able to provide sufficient detail in their opinions regarding the causation of the Veteran's conditions by his service-connected disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- Right ankle lateral collateral ligament sprain, Left ankle disorder, Right arm glenohumeral joint osteoarthritis
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 21, 2019
- Citation
- 19164724
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 19164724.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board is remanding the claims for service connection due to a regulatory duty to assist error.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for a left ankle disorder and assigned initial ratings of 40 percent, but no higher, for right upper extremity radiculopathy and 30 percent, but no higher, for left upper extremity radiculopathy.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for bilateral tinnitus, left foot disorder (flatfoot and plantar fasciitis), right foot disorder (flatfoot and plantar fasciitis), left ankle disorder, left knee disorder, right knee disorder, lumbar spine disorder, left lower extremity radiculopathy, and right lower extremity radiculopathy. The claim for an initial rating in excess of 20 percent for bilateral hearing loss was denied.
- Granted
The Board granted an initial rating of 20 percent for both the right and left ankle lateral collateral ligament sprain, as the evidence supports marked limitation of motion that significantly impairs normal use of the ankles.
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