The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to issues regarding his bilateral foot disability and left calcaneal spur. The Board finds that a rating in excess of 30 percent for the bilateral foot disability, characterized as pes planus, does not meet the criteria. A compensable rating for the left calcaneal spur also does not meet the criteria.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not show pronounced and marked inward displacement or severe spasm of the Achilles tendon on manipulation that improved with orthopedic shoes or appliances.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral foot disability (pes planus), left calcaneal spur
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 15, 2019
- Citation
- 19129002
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,948 · Granted: 29% (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 19129002.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to deficiencies in the VA examination reports and lack of adequate medical opinions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for a new VA examination to address discrepancies between the Veteran's symptoms and the findings of the previous VA examiner, as well as to adjudicate the issue of entitlement to SMC based on the loss of use of feet.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for an increased rating for left calcaneal spur and entitlement to a TDIU due to inadequate VA examination reports.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for a bilateral foot disability (pes planus) and neurological disability, to include narcolepsy, as the evidence did not support an increase in severity during active duty or a current diagnosis of these conditions.
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