The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for increased ratings and earlier effective dates due to inconsistencies in VA examination reports and additional evidence submitted after the April 2020 rating decision.
The deciding factor: The Board found that there were discrepancies in the VA examination reports regarding the Veteran’s use of assistive devices and flare-ups, necessitating further evaluation.
- Claimed conditions
- Right Ankle Instability, Chronic Lumbar Strain with Degenerative Changes
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 22, 2020
- Citation
- 20080397
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,762 · Granted: 24% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 20080397.
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.
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- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for TBI and right ankle disabilities due to inadequate VA examinations. The appeals need to be addressed with new VA examinations.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected PTSD with depressive disorder does not meet the criteria for SMC based on aid and attendance due to his ability to dress, feed himself, and perform daily activities. He is also not considered housebound due to his service-connected disabilities.
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