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 etiology.
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, including talar break. Similarly, no opinion was provided regarding whether any left foot disability is caused or aggravated by his service-connected pes planus and/or residuals of a right ankle injury.
- Claimed conditions
- Left ankle degenerative arthritis, Left foot metatarsalgia, hammertoes, hallux valgus, hyperpronation, callus, and hallux limitus
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 8, 2019
- Citation
- 19184839
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,050 · Granted: 32% (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 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.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for degenerative arthritis of the spine, right knee degenerative arthritis, left knee degenerative arthritis, right ankle degenerative arthritis, and left ankle degenerative arthritis.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the November 2024 rating decision is remanded due to a duty-to-assist error, specifically regarding the adequacy of the VA examination and consideration of the effects of medication on the Veteran's bilateral ankle disabilities.
- Partly granted
The veteran is granted a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) effective April 5, 2022. The case is remanded for consideration of TDIU prior to this date.
- Granted
The Veteran's left ankle disability is rated at a 20 percent rating for marked limitation of motion, the maximum schedular rating available.
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