The Board has remanded the case due to a lack of adequate medical opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's right ankle disability. The Veteran is seeking service connection for his current condition, which includes lateral collateral ligament sprain and degenerative disease with degenerative arthritis.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner provided an inadequate nexus opinion without addressing the Veteran's lay statements and the progression of symptoms over time.
- Claimed conditions
- right ankle lateral collateral ligament sprain, degenerative disease with degenerative arthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 11, 2024
- Citation
- A24065352
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,614 · Granted: 35% (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 A24065352.
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.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the appeals for all issues related to service connection and rating decisions from February 2017, May 2019, and November 2019 due to untimely Notice of Disagreement filings.
- Denied
The Board denied earlier effective dates for service connection for various wrist and elbow conditions, finding that the Veteran did not submit the correct form within one year of receiving a decision.
- Denied
The Board denied the appellant's claims for effective dates prior to June 10, 2022, for service connection of various conditions. The appeal is also remanded for further action on some issues.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's right ankle lateral collateral ligament sprain is related to his active service and grants entitlement to service connection.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.