The Board remands the claim for service connection of left ankle traumatic arthritis to obtain an adequate VA medical opinion regarding aggravation of a preexisting condition.
The deciding factor: Remand is necessary due to an inadequate VA medical opinion that failed to address whether there was clear and unmistakable evidence showing natural progression of the disease or consider the Veteran's report about marching in service impacting his ankle.
- Claimed conditions
- left ankle traumatic arthritis
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 6, 2024
- Citation
- A24072570
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 major depressive disorder, with anxious distress, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, left ankle traumatic arthritis, right ankle traumatic arthritis, left knee chondromalacia, right knee chondromalacia, and left foot pes cavus, resolving reasonable doubt in the Veteran's favor.
- Granted
The veteran's claim for service connection of left hip strain as secondary to left ankle traumatic arthritis was granted.
- Granted
The Board granted a rating of 20 percent for the Veteran's left ankle traumatic arthritis, finding that the evidence more closely approximated marked limitation of motion.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a medical opinion on whether plantar fasciitis was aggravated by active duty training.
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