The Board remands the claims for increased ratings for left ankle and right knee disabilities due to an inadequate VA examination.
The deciding factor: The VA examinations were deemed inadequate as they did not consider the Veteran's reports of increased pain, instability, and use of braces, nor did they include information on flare-ups.
- Claimed conditions
- soft tissue calcification beneath the lateral malleolus, left ankle, meniscus tear of the right knee with patellofemoral syndrome
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 6, 2021
- Citation
- 21061968
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 left hip osteoarthritis and right hip osteoarthritis as secondary to the Veteran's now service-connected knee disabilities, but denied service connection for a variety of other conditions including bilateral ankle, shoulder, foot, mood disorder, tinnitus, hyperlipidemia, and knees.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for bilateral foot and ankle conditions to correct a duty to assist error, requiring medical opinions on their relationship to the Veteran's service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for left ankle, right knee, and left knee as secondary to the service-connected right ankle due to a lack of development by the AOJ.
- Partly granted
The Board denied an earlier effective date for the award of service connection for hearing loss and granted an effective date of August 5, 2021, for the award of service connection for chronic sinusitis. The claims for increased ratings and additional service connection were also denied or remanded.
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