The Board remands the claims for a higher rating in excess of 20 percent for left ankle disability, a higher rating in excess of 10 percent for left thumb strain, and a higher rating in excess of 20 percent for LLE sciatic nerve radiculopathy to correct duty-to-assist errors.
The deciding factor: The Board finds that the claims must be remanded due to a duty to assist error involving ankylosis determination, neurological involvement, and severity assessment of the Veteran's conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- Left ankle disability, Left thumb strain, Left lower extremity (LLE) sciatic nerve radiculopathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 2, 2025
- Citation
- A25030598
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 various conditions, including diabetes mellitus, type II, coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, hypertension, asthma/lung disease, vision disability, bilateral plantar fasciitis, leukocytosis, kidney disease/kidney stones, enlarged prostate, sleep apnea, rheumatoid arthritis, lumbar spine disability, right ankle disability, and left ankle disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issues of entitlement to higher disability ratings for lumbar spine and bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy disabilities, as well as effective dates for TDIU and DEA, due to non-compliance with prior remand directives.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error regarding VA's obligation to obtain relevant records from the Social Security Administration.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for various disabilities, including plantar fasciitis of both feet, a low back disability, a left ankle disability, meniscus tears in both knees, and hip disabilities, as additional development is necessary to obtain adequate medical opinions.
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