The Board has reopened the veteran's claims for service connection for a chronic low back disability and bilateral pes planus, but finds that additional development is needed to determine if these conditions are related to military service.
The deciding factor: Additional medical examination is required to assess whether current diagnoses of low back disorders are at least as likely as not caused by an injury in service.
- Claimed conditions
- chronic low back disability, bilateral pes planus
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 16, 2004
- Citation
- 0401870
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 0401870.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew the appeals for service connection for bilateral pes planus, obstructive sleep apnea, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for multiple conditions, including an acquired psychiatric disorder, sleep apnea, hypertension, and various musculoskeletal and skin disabilities.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for bilateral pes planus based on aggravation of a preexisting disability, but denied service connection for right and left knee disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for bilateral pes planus, anemia, and gastritis as the conditions were not shown to be related to or aggravated by service.
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