The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for bilateral ankle and knee conditions, as secondary to service-connected arthrosis of bilateral feet with plantar fasciitis. Additional development is needed due to insufficient opinions in previous VA examinations.
The deciding factor: Previous VA examination opinions are insufficient and do not address direct service connection or consider the Veteran's lay statements and medical records indicating antalgic gait.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral ankle condition, bilateral knee condition
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 8, 2020
- Citation
- 20001590
Veterans Law Judge
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 20001590.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for a shoulder condition, bilateral knee condition, and right hip condition. The Veteran's claims were based on current diagnoses of these conditions but the evidence did not support an in-service injury or disease.,The Board also noted that there was no nexus between the current disabilities and service due to lack of in-service complaints or injuries.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to inadequate development of evidence, specifically failing to provide a VA examination or medical opinion regarding his claimed bilateral ankle, knee, low back, and left shoulder conditions. The claims are being returned to the AOJ for further action.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral knee conditions and obstructive sleep apnea are being remanded due to duty-to-assist errors. The Board is unable to make findings on the merits of these claims at this time.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claim of service connection for a bilateral knee condition due to inadequate medical opinion in the June 2024 VA examination.
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