The Board remands the claim for a higher rating for left ankle arthritis, post-traumatic due to errors in the previous decision regarding the Talar Tilt Test and duty to assist.
The deciding factor: Remand is necessary to correct pre-decisional duty to assist errors, specifically ensuring all relevant VistA records are associated with the claims file.
- Claimed conditions
- left ankle arthritis, post-traumatic
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 29, 2025
- Citation
- A25047642
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 prostate cancer and related disabilities, urinary incontinence, sleep apnea, hypertension, varicose veins, lumbar spine disability, hip arthritis, shoulder arthritis, ankle arthritis, knee strain, knee replacement, and hand arthritis. The only condition granted was a 10 percent rating for a fracture of the right proximal first metacarpal.
- Granted
The Board granted restoration of a 20 percent rating for left ankle arthritis effective January 1, 2025.
- Remanded (sent back)
The appeal was remanded to correct errors made by the AOJ in complying with an earlier Board remand, specifically to obtain outstanding private treatment records.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for a right foot disability, left ankle arthritis, and right ankle arthritis as of July 20, 2007, but remanded the claim for a compensable rating for a left foot disability.
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