The Veteran's right ankle gout is currently rated at 20 percent, and his left ankle gout is rated at 10 percent. The appeal for higher ratings remains pending.,The claim of service connection for finger joint pain in the left hand has been remanded due to a need for further medical opinion.
The deciding factor: The evidence does not support a finding that the Veteran's ankle conditions warrant ratings higher than those currently assigned, as they do not meet the criteria for more severe disability under Diagnostic Code 5271.,Further evaluation is needed to determine if the Veteran's left hand finger joint pain is separate from his service-connected left upper extremity radiculopathy.
- Claimed conditions
- Right Ankle Gout, Left Ankle Gout, Left Hand Finger Joint Pain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 31, 2024
- Citation
- A24070895
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,548 · Granted: 31% (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 A24070895.
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
Service connection is granted for PTSD with GAD, sleep impairment as part of PTSD and GAD, right elbow enthesopathy, left ankle gout, and left knee gout. Service connection is denied for gout, claimed as joint pain.
- Denied
The Board has determined that there is no evidence to support the Veteran's claims for service connection of right and left ankle disabilities, as gout. The evidence does not show a direct relationship between his in-service injuries and current conditions.
- 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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
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