The Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral ankle disability and bilateral shin splints are being remanded due to deficiencies in the VA examination opinions. The AOJ is instructed to obtain additional medical evidence, including Reserves service treatment records, and request addendum opinions from a clinician.
The deciding factor: The decision was remanded because the VA examiner's opinions were based on inaccurate factual premises and did not consider the Veteran's lay statements regarding the onset of his disabilities during service.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral ankle disability, bilateral shin splints
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 29, 2023
- Citation
- A23037561
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 A23037561.
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 the claims for a neurological examination to determine if any diagnosed radiculopathy or other neurological disability affecting the lower extremities was caused or aggravated by service-connected conditions.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for a bilateral ankle disability as secondary to his service-connected bilateral knee and low back disabilities.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for service connection on multiple conditions have been dismissed due to the Veteran's withdrawal of the appeal.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's claim for bilateral shin splints was dismissed as the March 2025 VA Form 10182 constituted an impermissible concurrent election with respect to the issue and no waiver of the prohibition on concurrent election was made.
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