The Board remands the claims for increased disability ratings for bilateral ankle and left knee disabilities due to inadequate VA examinations.
The deciding factor: The September 2023 VA examinations are found to be inadequate as they contain apparent contradictions and do not adequately address the Veteran's pain with repeated use over time, requiring further medical opinions.
- Claimed conditions
- Left ankle disorder, Right ankle disorder, Left knee limitation of flexion
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 14, 2025
- Citation
- 25003594
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,934 · Granted: 41% (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 25003594.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for higher ratings for left knee limitation of flexion and strain of the left muscle group XI are being remanded due to pre-decisional duty to assist errors. The AOJ will consider any additional evidence submitted when the claims are readjudicated.
- 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.
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