The Board has reopened the claim for service connection of a left ankle disability and remanded the issues regarding service connection for left foot disabilities due to lack of medical opinions on whether these conditions are caused or aggravated by service-connected right ankle injury.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner was unable to provide an opinion on whether the Veteran's left ankle degenerative arthritis is caused or aggravated by his service-connected bilateral pes planus and/or residuals of a right ankle injury, due to lack of information in the claims file.
- Claimed conditions
- {"condition_name":"Left ankle degenerative arthritis"}, {"condition_name":"Left foot metatarsalgia, hammertoes, hallux valgus, hyperpronation, callus, and hallux limitus"}
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 8, 2019
- Citation
- 19184839
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.
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- Granted
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