The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for a disability rating in excess of 20 percent for service-connected myofascial pain syndrome with lateral laxity, left and right ankles due to inadequate VA examination reports.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner’s opinions were found to be inadequate as they did not provide retrospective estimates or address the Veteran's flare-ups and functional loss during use over time.
- Claimed conditions
- myofascial pain syndrome with lateral laxity, left ankle, myofascial pain syndrome with lateral laxity, right ankle
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 15, 2020
- Citation
- 20079178
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 20079178.
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 Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his bilateral ankle disabilities due to inadequate VA examinations and the need for a new examination that includes testing of range of motion, flare-ups, and additional functional limitations.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal involves multiple service-connected knee and ankle conditions, including myofascial pain syndrome with lateral laxity in both ankles, chronic tears of the lateral meniscus with patellofemoral joint syndrome in the right knee, limitation of extension in the right knee, and patellofemoral joint syndrome in the left knee. The case is being remanded to obtain updated medical records and schedule the Veteran for examinations to assess the current severity of his service-connected conditions.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
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