The Veteran's claim of service connection for a right ankle condition was denied in January 2004. New and material evidence has been received to reopen the claim, but the issue remains remanded due to the need for a VA examination.
The deciding factor: New and material evidence has been submitted, but further evaluation is needed as there are unresolved issues regarding the etiology of the right ankle condition.
- Claimed conditions
- right ankle chronic sprain, right ankle tendinitis, right ankle osteoarthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 16, 2020
- Citation
- 20079374
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 20079374.
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 a headache disability and assigned ratings of 70 percent, 20 percent, and 10 percent for generalized anxiety disorder, right ankle osteoarthritis, and right gamekeepers thumb respectively. The claims for increased ratings for sinusitis, bilateral hearing loss, hypertension, and the remaining conditions were denied.
- Granted
The Board granted a rating of 20 percent for left and right ankle tendinitis, as the Veteran's dorsiflexion was shown to be less than 5 degrees or plantar flexion less than 10 degrees during the appeal period.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the veteran's claims for further development, including additional VA examinations to assess the current severity and manifestations of his service-connected left hip, left knee, right knee, and right ankle disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for status post hysterectomy, right ankle tendinitis, and recurrent urinary tract infections.
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