The appeal is remanded to the RO for further development and adjudication of the veteran's claims.
The deciding factor: The evidence is insufficient to determine the current status of the service-connected right ankle disorder, and a new examination is required. Additionally, the medical opinion regarding secondary service connection was inadequate and requires re-evaluation.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative joint disease of the right ankle, Right foot condition, Left foot bone spurs
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 3, 2008
- Citation
- 0810988
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,514 · Granted: 19% (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 0810988.
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 right foot condition, including pain and functional limitation, is related to service. The Veteran's right leg disability did not have an onset in service or manifest within a year of service, nor is it otherwise related to service or a service-connected disability. The Veteran's left leg disability also did not have an onset in service or manifest within a year of service, nor is it otherwise related to service or a service-connected disability.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection of a right foot condition as there is no current or diagnosed disability, and the evidence does not support a finding that any such disability was incurred in service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded several claims due to pre-decisional duty to assist errors, including for new VA medical opinions on right wrist and knee conditions, right foot condition, right ankle condition, erectile dysfunction, GERD, headaches, obstructive sleep apnea, dry eye syndrome, lumbar spine condition, and right lower extremity radiculopathy.
- Granted
The Veteran's pes planus and right foot condition were found to have been injured in service and are etiologically related. New evidence has been received, warranting readjudication of the claims.
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