The Board remands the claims for increased ratings of the Veteran's lumbar spine and right ankle disabilities to correct an error by the AOJ in satisfying the regulatory duty to provide the Veteran with notice of his right to a pre-decisional hearing.
The deciding factor: Remand is required due to an error by the AOJ in failing to notify the Veteran of his right to a pre-decisional hearing, as per 38 C.F.R. § 3.103(d)(1).
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disc disease and arthritis of the lumbar spine, Right ankle sprain with osteoarthritis
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 29, 2025
- Citation
- A25110668
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 878 · Granted: 36% (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 A25110668.
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 Veteran's right ankle disability prior to March 24, 2021, was rated at 10 percent and the Board found that it did not meet the criteria for a higher rating.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for the veteran's lumbar spine disability, bladder and bowel incontinence, vertigo, and right knee disability as there was no evidence to support a finding that these conditions were incurred or aggravated during active military service.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's appeal for an earlier effective date prior to September 1, 2021, for the grant of service connection for degenerative disc disease and arthritis of the lumbar spine.
- Denied
The Veteran's right ankle sprain with osteoarthritis prior to March 24, 2021 has not shown marked limited motion of the ankle (less than 5 degrees dorsiflexion or less than 10 degrees plantar flexion), thus a rating in excess of 10 percent is denied.
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