The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for an increased rating for his right ankle disability and service connection for a bilateral hip disability, finding that additional development is needed to fully evaluate these issues.
The deciding factor: The Board found that there are outstanding VA treatment records and that a more contemporaneous examination of the Veteran's right ankle disability is needed. Additionally, a medical opinion addressing both causation and aggravation aspects of secondary service connection for the bilateral hip disability was required.
- Claimed conditions
- Right ankle disability, Bilateral hip disability
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 6, 2021
- Citation
- 21040661
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 21040661.
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 service connection for a low back disability and bilateral hip disability, finding that there was no evidence linking these conditions to his military service.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date of January 10, 1997, for a 10% disability rating for his right ankle disability is denied as there was no CUE in the previous decisions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding whether the Veteran's right ankle disability is related to his service. The VA examiner must provide an opinion on this matter.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has dismissed the appeals to reduce disability ratings for bilateral hearing loss and right ankle disabilities. The case is REMANDED for a VA examination regarding the service connection claim for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD.
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