The Board has reopened the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral ankle disability, but has remanded it to obtain a VA examination and opinions regarding whether his current ankle disabilities are related to service or service-connected knee disabilities.
The deciding factor: The evidence received since the last final denial is new and material as it relates to an unestablished fact necessary to substantiate the claim for service connection, specifically whether the Veteran has a current bilateral ankle disability and whether such began in or is related to service, or is secondary to one or more service-connected disability(ies).
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral ankle disability
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 18, 2020
- Citation
- 20027093
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 20027093.
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 has remanded the claims for a neurological examination to determine if any diagnosed radiculopathy or other neurological disability affecting the lower extremities was caused or aggravated by service-connected conditions.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for a bilateral ankle disability as secondary to his service-connected bilateral knee and low back disabilities.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew his appeal regarding the service connection for migraines, a left shoulder disability, a right elbow disability, a left wrist disability, and a bilateral ankle disability.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for bilateral plantar fasciitis, a bilateral ankle disability, and thyroid nodules with multinodular goiter as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected intervertebral disc syndrome with degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine.
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