The Veteran's left ankle disability is currently rated at 20 percent, and the Board denied a higher rating. The case was previously remanded for an examination to determine if the Veteran's bilateral knee degenerative joint disease (DJD) is secondary to his service-connected left ankle sprain.,The case is being remanded again due to insufficient information regarding whether the Veteran's obesity caused or aggravated his DJD of the bilateral knees. An addendum opinion from a clinician is needed.
The deciding factor: The decision was not clear on whether the Veteran's DJD of the knees is secondary to his service-connected left ankle sprain, and there are concerns about the impact of obesity on his knee condition.
- Claimed conditions
- left ankle sprain, degenerative joint disease of the bilateral knees
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 28, 2019
- Citation
- 19166864
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 19166864.
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 left shoulder strain and left ankle sprain, finding that the evidence was in approximate balance showing injuries during active duty training (ADT) from August 12, 2023 to August 25, 2023.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for hypogonadism with fatigue, GERD, and a right ear hearing loss disability. The Veteran's left rib disability was denied, and the ratings for his left shoulder injury, left hip bursitis, impairment of the left thigh, left knee retropatellar pain syndrome limitation of extension, and left ankle sprain were either granted or denied with specific rating percentages.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for left ankle sprain, finding that the Veteran's current condition is causally related to an in-service injury.
- Dismissed
The appeal was dismissed as the Veteran did not timely file a Board Appeal request.
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