The Board has decided to remand the case due to inadequate examination and medical opinion regarding the Veteran's left ankle condition. The Veteran contends that his current left ankle disability is related to an in-service incident where he was caught by a cable while onboard a ship.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner provided an inadequate medical opinion based on the lack of treatment in service, without considering the Veteran’s lay statements regarding his symptoms since service.
- Claimed conditions
- Left ankle condition
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 24, 2020
- Citation
- 20005283
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 3,038 · Granted: 30% (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 20005283.
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 has determined that the Veteran's left ankle condition existed prior to his military service and was not aggravated by service. Therefore, he is denied entitlement to service connection for a left ankle condition.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for increased evaluations of coronary artery disease, service connection for left and right ankle conditions have all been denied. The evidence does not support the presence or etiology of these conditions in relation to military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a current diagnosis of upper extremity neuropathy, and therefore service connection for this condition is denied. The claims for bilateral foot conditions, low back condition, left shoulder condition, right shoulder condition, left hip condition, right hip condition, left knee condition, right knee condition, left ankle condition, and right ankle condition are remanded due to the failure to provide a VA examination prior to the December 2024 rating decision.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for a left and right ankle condition due to the lack of evidence showing current diagnoses, while remanding the claim for bilateral hearing loss for further medical evaluation.
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