The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for his right ankle disability, which includes DJD and achilles tendonitis, is being remanded due to the need for additional development including a VA examination.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the previous development was not responsive to its directives and thus requires further examination to assess the current severity of the Veteran's right ankle disability.
- Claimed conditions
- right ankle degenerative joint disease (DJD), achilles tendonitis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 6, 2023
- Citation
- 23059725
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 23059725.
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.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for right and left ankle disabilities as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected hallux valgus.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for lumbar spondylolisthesis and bilateral ankle dermatitis, restored the ratings for left knee limitation of extension, left ankle degenerative joint disease (DJD), and right ankle DJD, and denied service connection for sinusitis, chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), a right 5th finger scar, increased ratings for left knee flexion and extension, and rhinitis.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the service connection claims for achilles tendonitis and a bilateral leg disability for additional development, as the previous VA examination opinions were found to be inadequate.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remanded all issues to the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ) for further action, including obtaining missing medical records and scheduling new VA examinations.
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