The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for right ankle and left knee disorders due to inadequate development. The AOJ is required to arrange for an addendum opinion from a VA examiner regarding whether the Veteran has current diagnoses of these conditions, their relationship to her service-connected right calcaneal stress fracture, and any aggravation by that condition.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the previous opinions were inadequate due to missing information in the claims file and remanded for additional development.
- Claimed conditions
- Right ankle disorder, Left knee disorder
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 18, 2020
- Citation
- 20074066
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 annual clothing allowances for a left knee sleeve, A&D ointment, hydrocortisone cream, and incontinence briefs due to lack of service connection or evidence that these items cause irreparable damage to outer garments.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 20 percent rating for the Veteran's left knee strain, service connection for right ear hearing loss, and service connection for a right ankle disorder. Other claims were denied or remanded.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for sleep apnea, a left knee disorder, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), hiatal hernia, and diverticulitis. A 30 percent rating was also granted for the Veteran's generalized anxiety disorder effective February 26, 2021.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss, service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, and service connection for right knee and right ankle disorders.
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