The Board has remanded the claims for a left ankle disability and posttraumatic headaches due to insufficient development. The Veteran's current left ankle disability is not shown to have had its onset in service or be related to active military service, while his right knee disability may be related to service based on additional medical opinions and records.
The deciding factor: The Board found the evidence insufficient to establish a relationship between the current left ankle disability and service, but noted that there is potential for a relationship with the Veteran's right knee disability due to previous injuries in service.
- Claimed conditions
- Left ankle disability, Right knee disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 6, 2020
- Citation
- 20064693
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for chronic headaches, CFS, dermatosis, bilateral RLS, a lumbar spine disability, and sleep apnea but denied a compensable evaluation for allergic rhinitis.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including diabetes mellitus, type II, coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, hypertension, asthma/lung disease, vision disability, bilateral plantar fasciitis, leukocytosis, kidney disease/kidney stones, enlarged prostate, sleep apnea, rheumatoid arthritis, lumbar spine disability, right ankle disability, and left ankle disability.
- Partly granted
The Board denied the claims for an initial compensable rating for left ear sensorineural hearing loss, service connection for a right ear hearing loss disability, and a left eye disorder. However, it granted service connection for a back disability and radiculopathy of both lower extremities as secondary to the back disability.
- Denied
The Board denied increased ratings for various disabilities and granted earlier effective dates for service connection of scars, but denied an earlier effective date for individual unemployability.
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