The Board remands the claims for service connection for a cervical spine condition, left ankle strain, and right foot pain to correct duty to assist errors that occurred prior to the January 2024 rating decision on appeal.
The deciding factor: The medical opinions provided are inadequate as they rely on the lack of evidence without considering lay statements, and new VA examinations and medical opinions are needed.
- Claimed conditions
- cervical spine condition with finger numbness, left ankle strain, right foot pain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 20, 2025
- Citation
- A25026216
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 575 · Granted: 29% (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 A25026216.
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 service connection for migraine headaches, as secondary to tinnitus, is granted. The claims for service connection for hearing loss disability and a disability manifested by shortness of breath other than chronic sinusitis and allergic rhinitis are denied. The claims for service connection for an intestinal disability (diverticulitis), fatigue, hypertension, neck disability, right upper extremity radiculopathy, left upper extremity radiculopathy, right shoulder disability, left shoulder disability, upper and lower back disability, right lower extremity radiculopathy, left lower extremity radiculopathy, right hip disability, left hip disability, right foot pain, left foot pain, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and an acquired psychiatric disorder are all denied.
- Denied
The Veteran's annual clothing allowance for a foot and ankle brace in the 2022 calendar year was denied because the evidence did not show that any such brace tended to wear out or tear his clothing.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for left ankle strain, finding that there is clear and unmistakable evidence that the condition preexisted active service and was not aggravated by service. The appeal is dismissed.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for left ankle strain, left knee strain, and bilateral hip strain due to a lack of etiology opinions in the record.
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