The Veteran's degenerative joint disease of the bilateral ankles and low back muscle spasm have been rated based on their current severity. The appeal is remanded for further development regarding service connection claims.,For the period prior to January 8, 2013, the Veteran’s degenerative joint disease of the right and left ankles was characterized by moderate limitation of motion. Since January 8, 2013, it has been characterized by marked limitation of motion. The low back muscle spasm is characterized by limited range of motion, painful motion, and regular use of assistive devices.
The deciding factor: The appeal is remanded for further development regarding service connection claims.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative Joint Disease of the Bilateral Ankles, Low Back Muscle Spasm
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 22, 2019
- Citation
- 19180286
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 3,217 · Granted: 46% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 19180286.
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)
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- Denied
The Board found that the Veteran's low back disability did not manifest during service and is not secondary to his service-connected ulcerative colitis.
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