The Veteran's right ankle disability is being remanded due to a duty to assist error in the prior VA examination report, which did not include joint testing for active and passive motion in both weight-bearing and non-weight-bearing circumstances.
The deciding factor: The prior VA examination report was deficient as it did not include necessary range of motion studies in both active and passive motions under Correia v. McDonald (2016).
- Claimed conditions
- right ankle traumatic arthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 2, 2023
- Citation
- A23030716
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 A23030716.
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 Board has remanded several issues for further evaluation, including right ankle traumatic arthritis, left foot fibromatosis, both right and left foot hypertrophic scars, migraine headaches, lumbosacral strain, and chronic cough.
- Denied
The Board denied all claims for increased ratings and earlier effective dates, except for the grant of an earlier effective date for total disability due to individual unemployability (TDIU) and eligibility for Dependents' Educational Assistance based on permanent and total disability status.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for major depressive disorder, with anxious distress, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, left ankle traumatic arthritis, right ankle traumatic arthritis, left knee chondromalacia, right knee chondromalacia, and left foot pes cavus, resolving reasonable doubt in the Veteran's favor.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the appeals as they were not processed under the modernized review system (AMA). The Veteran's claims for increased ratings of his left and right ankle conditions are still pending in the legacy appeal system.
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