The Board has granted the right ankle disability claim and remanded the left elbow disability claim for further review.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner determined that the current left elbow disorder did not clearly and unmistakably pre-exist service, but also found no evidence of aggravation during service. The examiner was asked to consider the Veteran's participation in martial arts and football as well as repetitive motion and stress inherent in his military duties.
- Claimed conditions
- Right ankle lateral collateral ligament sprain, Osteoarthritis of the right ankle
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 12, 2023
- Citation
- 23002168
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 23002168.
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 Veteran's claim for service connection for osteoarthritis of the right ankle was granted with an initial evaluation of 10 percent effective September 17, 2018. The Board has now granted a higher rating but is remanding to determine if an even higher rating is warranted.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates as they were received more than one year after her intent to file a claim, and no good cause extension was requested.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the VA examination provided by the RO was inadequate and remands the case for a new examination to determine if the Veteran's current right ankle disability is related to her active military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's right ankle disability has been granted service connection. The Veteran's right hip trochanteric pain syndrome is remanded for further review.
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