The Board has determined that the VA examination and opinions were inadequate, necessitating further developments to determine if the Veteran's right ankle disability is related to service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner did not provide adequate opinions regarding the Veteran's current right ankle disability and its relationship to service.
- Claimed conditions
- Right ankle osteoarthritis, Right ankle peroneal tendon subluxation
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 31, 2024
- Citation
- 24004827
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 837 · Granted: 24% (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 24004827.
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 Veteran's claim for a higher rating for right knee instability is granted, with a 30 percent rating. The claims for increased ratings for right knee osteoarthritis (flexion) and left hip strain, osteoarthritis and bursitis based on painful motion are denied. The claim for an increased rating for right ankle osteoarthritis is also denied.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an initial 20 percent rating for left ankle strain and earlier effective dates of August 24, 1998 for service connection of hammertoes in the feet. Other claims were denied.
- Granted
The Veteran's major depression, recurrent moderately severe (previously rated as adjustment disorder with depressed mood), is granted a 70 percent disability rating for the period prior to January 17, 2020. For the period beginning from January 17, 2020, his major depression is granted a 100 percent disability rating.
- Granted
The Veteran's PTSD and right ankle osteoarthritis have been granted service connection. The appeals for the right and left knee disabilities were withdrawn by the Veteran prior to a decision.
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