The Board has remanded the cases for further development and an addendum medical opinion to address whether the Veteran's preexisting bilateral foot disability was aggravated by active service, and if so, whether it is clear and unmistakable that any increase in severity during service.
The deciding factor: The decision emphasizes the need for a medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's preexisting bilateral foot disability (including pes planus, hammertoes, bunions, and hallux valgus deformity) was aggravated by active service. The examiner is asked to consider the Veteran's lay statements about pain during service and the specific instances of documented foot pain in service records.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral pes planus, bilateral second, third, fourth and fifth hammertoes, bunions, bilateral hallux valgus deformity with degenerative arthritic changes
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 9, 2019
- Citation
- 19152851
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 317 · 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 19152851.
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 the Appellant's requests for earlier effective dates for his service connection for bilateral pes planus and gynecomastia scar residuals, finding that the earliest possible effective dates are the dates of receipt of the claims.
- Denied
The Veteran's hypertension, bilateral pes planus, PTSD, and anxiety were all denied as service connection was not established based on the evidence of record.,Bilateral pes planus was denied due to lack of current diagnosis.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for treatment purposes only under Chapter 17 for various conditions, including cervical spine condition, right upper extremity nerve condition, left upper extremity nerve condition, headache condition, right wrist condition, left wrist condition, right elbow condition, left elbow condition, right shoulder condition, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), bilateral pes planus, right ankle disorder, left ankle disorder, and left knee disorder.
- Denied
The Veteran's bilateral pes planus is rated at 30 percent, which does not meet the criteria for a higher rating. The Board denied his claim for a higher rating as his pes planus did not result in pronounced flatfoot with marked pronation, extreme tenderness of plantar surfaces of the feet, or marked inward displacement and severe spasm of the Achilles' tendon on manipulation. For TDIU, the Veteran was granted from March 2, 2019, based on his service-connected disabilities rendering him unable to obtain and follow a substantially gainful occupation.
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