The Board has remanded the case for further review due to insufficient evidence and new claims submitted. The Veteran's claim of service connection for a left ankle disability is denied as no new and material evidence was found, while his claims for increased ratings for right knee and right ankle disabilities are also remanded.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the additional evidence did not raise a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claims and thus remanded them for further review.
- Claimed conditions
- left ankle, right knee, right ankle, left knee
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 1, 2019
- Citation
- 19175664
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 Veteran's service-connected left knee and right shoulder disabilities, along with compensation benefits awarded under 38 USC § 1151 for a right bicep detachment during shoulder surgery, prevented him from securing or following substantially gainful employment from December 22, 2011 to December 11, 2016.
- 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.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the claims for earlier effective dates and higher ratings for various conditions, including left eye condition, right eye condition, hypertension, left knee, right knee, obstructive sleep apnea, and coronary artery disease (CAD), as well as denied an earlier effective date for CAD.
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