The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a current diagnosis of a left ankle disorder and therefore, service connection for this condition is denied. The right ankle disability, tendonitis and lateral collateral ligament sprain, as well as the right knee osteoarthritis and meniscal tear are remanded due to insufficient evidence.
The deciding factor: The Board found that there was no current diagnosis of a left ankle disorder in the Veteran's medical records, thus denying service connection for this condition. The right ankle and right knee conditions require further examination as the provided opinions were inadequate or lacked sufficient rationale.
- Claimed conditions
- Left Ankle Disability, Right Ankle Tendonitis and Lateral Collateral Ligament Sprain, Left Knee Condition, Right Knee Osteoarthritis and Meniscal Tear, Neck Condition
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 14, 2020
- Citation
- A20018505
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 A20018505.
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 bilateral knee conditions, finding that the Veteran's current knee conditions are more likely than not related to his military service.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for right and left ankle disabilities, as well as denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss. The Veteran's claims for other conditions are remanded due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a current right shoulder condition or neck condition, and therefore service connection for these conditions is denied. The claims of service connection for a neck condition as secondary to a service-connected right wrist condition and for bilateral hearing loss are remanded due to insufficient evidence.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for service connection for left ankle and right shoulder disabilities due to inadequate VA examination opinions. The claims will be reviewed again with new medical opinions.
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