The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claim for service connection of a bilateral ankle condition due to insufficient evidence in the record.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner’s opinion was inadequate as it did not address whether the Veteran has a left and/or right ankle condition that is directly related to his service, irrespective of a lack of treatment following service.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral ankle condition
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 27, 2020
- Citation
- A20016082
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)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for a neck condition, bilateral elbow condition, bilateral hip condition, bilateral ankle condition, and narcolepsy due to inadequate VA examinations and potential pre-decisional duty to assist errors.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for tinnitus, bilateral hearing loss, bilateral pes planus (flat feet), bilateral ankle condition, bilateral knee condition, and lower back condition as there was no evidence of a current disability or that the disabilities were related to the Veteran's military service.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 30 percent rating for the Veteran's stress fracture, mid-distal femur, right leg with limited flexion and restored the 30 percent rating for the Veteran's stress fracture, mid-distal femur, right leg with limitation of abduction and rotation. The other claims were denied.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for erectile dysfunction and denied service connection for sleep apnea with CPAP, diabetes mellitus, a bilateral ankle condition, tension headaches, and PTSD with generalized anxiety disorder.
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This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.