The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for right ankle sprain, right knee strain, and sinusitis due to duty-to-assist errors in obtaining STRs related to his claimed conditions.
The deciding factor: The VA failed to obtain relevant service treatment records that could have provided evidence of the onset or etiology of the Veteran's claimed disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- right ankle sprain, right knee strain, sinusitis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 9, 2023
- Citation
- A23031636
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 A23031636.
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 found a pre-decisional duty to assist error and has ordered the case back to the AOJ for proper notice regarding the Veteran's right to a hearing.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's initial claim for an increased rating for sinusitis is being remanded due to a failure by the AOJ to provide proper notice of his right to a hearing.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied service connection for sinusitis and remanded the Veteran's claims for chronic lower back pain, right knee pain, left knee pain, neck pain, and GERD.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's right ankle disability, finding that it had its onset during service and is related to service. The decision was made after considering both lay and medical evidence.
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