The Board has remanded the case for further development to obtain informed consent records related to the Veteran's August 2017 right ankle fusion procedure. The issues of entitlement to an initial compensable evaluation of right foot scars, entitlement to a temporary total evaluation from June 1, 2018, for right ankle strain status-post fusion, and entitlement to special monthly compensation at the 's' rate are all pending.
The deciding factor: The Board found that further development is needed to obtain informed consent records related to the Veteran's August 2017 right ankle fusion procedure. These records may be necessary to determine whether the Veteran's heart attack was due to treatment occurring at a VA facility, which would affect his claim under 38 U.S.C. § 1151.
- Claimed conditions
- Right foot scars, Right ankle strain status-post fusion
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 18, 2020
- Citation
- 20054628
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 20054628.
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 the Veteran's claims for a compensable rating for her right and left foot scars, finding that the evidence did not show an area or areas of 144 square inches (929 sq. cm.) or greater.
- Dismissed
The veteran withdrew the appeal for all service connection claims, and the Board dismissed the case.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss, denied increased ratings for the right foot stress fracture and scars, restored a 40% rating for lumbosacral strain with degenerative arthritis, and denied earlier effective dates for TDIU and DEA. The Board remanded claims for service connection for a gastrointestinal disability and increased evaluations for the low back and bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for a compensable disability rating for traumatic amputation of the right second and third toes was denied. Effective dates of August 31, 2012 were granted for service connection of right foot scars and right foot neuropathy.
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