The Board remands the claims for a new VA examination to assess the current severity of the Veteran's left ankle disability, including ROM during flare-ups.
The deciding factor: The January 2019 VA examination did not comply with the Court's holdings in Correia v. McDonald and Sharp v. Shulkin, as it lacked range of motion estimates during passive motion during weight-bearing and non-weight-bearing, and during flare-ups.
- Claimed conditions
- left ankle sprain status post open reduction internal fixation surgery, painful scars, left ankle sprain status post open reduction internal fixation surgery, left ankle scars associated with left ankle sprain status post open reduction internal fixation surgery
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 9, 2023
- Citation
- 23001297
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 denied increased ratings for the lumbar spine disability, right and left lower extremity radiculopathy (femoral), posterior trunk scars, and painful scars. However, it granted a rating of 40 percent for the lumbar spine disability from August 30, 2022, an earlier effective date of April 10, 2019, for service connection for painful trunk scars, and an earlier effective date of November 9, 2020, for TDIU and DEA.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of November 20, 2012, and no earlier, for the grant of eligibility for Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA) under 38 USC chapter 35 but denied earlier effective dates for service connection claims and increased ratings.
- Granted
The Board granted the veteran's appeal and reinstated a 10 percent disability rating for painful scars effective July 22, 2022, due to improper reduction of the rating.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew the appeals for higher ratings and service connection, resulting in their dismissal.
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