The Board has reopened the Veteran's claims for service connection for right and left ankle degenerative arthritis as secondary to her service-connected knees and spine. However, the claims are remanded due to insufficient evidence regarding whether her service-connected conditions have aggravated her current ankle conditions.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner did not address whether the Veteran's service-connected lumbar degenerative disc disease or bilateral knee degenerative joint disease could have aggravated her bilateral ankle degenerative arthritis.
- Claimed conditions
- right ankle degenerative arthritis, left ankle degenerative arthritis
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 5, 2023
- Citation
- 23020975
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 23020975.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims of service connection for left and right knee disabilities are being remanded due to the need for additional medical opinions regarding the relationship between his service-connected right ankle degenerative arthritis and his current knee conditions.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for a rating in excess of 10 percent for left ankle degenerative arthritis has been dismissed.,Service connection for the right shoulder condition is granted, and new evidence supports readjudicating the claim for residuals of CAPSO.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including PTSD, TBI, and vertigo, have rendered him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the claims for left ankle degenerative arthritis, left foot degenerative arthritis, and left foot post-surgical scar due to an error in failing to provide notice of the right to a hearing on a supplemental claim.
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