The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection of various ankle, hip, knee, and foot conditions due to insufficient rationale provided in the VA examiner's opinions. The issues are related to secondary service connection.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the current rationale provided by the VA examiners is not sufficient to determine whether the claimed conditions are at least as likely as not incurred or caused by service, specifically the Veteran's motor vehicle accident and/or his service-connected T8 vertebra fracture residuals.
- Claimed conditions
- Right ankle condition, Right hip condition, Left hip condition, Right knee condition, Left knee condition, Bilateral foot disorder with heel spurs
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 22, 2021
- Citation
- 21024060
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 21024060.
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.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's right knee condition as secondary to his service-connected right ankle condition.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the Veteran's appeals for higher disability ratings in excess of 20 percent for cervical spine and lumbar spine conditions, left knee condition, right knee condition, and sinusitis. The Veteran was granted service connection for chronic laryngeal papillomatosis.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for psychiatric disorder, right shoulder condition, and right knee condition due to duty-to-assist errors.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected PTSD has prevented him from securing and maintaining gainful employment throughout the appeal period, leading to a grant of TDIU. The issue of service connection for chronic fatigue syndrome was withdrawn by the appellant.
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