The Board has determined that the VA examination reports are insufficient to adjudicate the claim and ordered a new VA examination. The Veteran's left ankle range of motion during flare-ups is being evaluated for ankylosis.
The deciding factor: The examiner did not properly account for a decrease in range of motion measure despite noting additional functional loss during flare ups, which resulted in identical range-of-motion measurements to the initial ones.
- Claimed conditions
- left tibia-fibula fracture with ankle involvement
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 12, 2023
- Citation
- 23050423
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 23050423.
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 for an increased rating and TDIU have been remanded due to lack of substantial compliance with the October 2022 Board remand directives.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for an increased rating for her left tibia-fibula fracture with ankle involvement and TDIU due to the need for a new examination addressing flare-ups, as well as the inappropriateness of denying TDIU based on her employment status.
- Granted
The Veteran's left ankle disability was granted a rating of 20 percent prior to May 21, 2021 and denied for any higher ratings thereafter.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
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