The Veteran's claims for higher ratings for his right ankle disorder and a scar at the right ankle are remanded due to inadequate examination findings. The claims will be readjudicated after obtaining updated examinations.
The deciding factor: The most recent VA examination is inadequate as it does not provide sufficient information about whether the Veteran's right ankle ever manifested in ankylosis, or if so, during which time periods and at what angles.
- Claimed conditions
- Right ankle disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 17, 2024
- Citation
- 24002418
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 878 · Granted: 46% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 24002418.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for the Veteran's right ankle disorder, finding that it was not shown to be related to his active duty service and did not meet the criteria for secondary service connection due to his left ankle disability.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a right ankle disorder and a lung disorder, finding that the conditions are related to active-duty service.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection of a right ankle disorder, finding that there was no evidence linking his current condition to his military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient medical opinions regarding whether the Veteran's right ankle disorder is related to her military service. A new VA examination is needed.
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