The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims of service connection for bilateral ankle disability, left plantar fasciitis, and pes planus as secondary to his service-connected left knee disability. The remand requires additional medical opinions regarding the etiology of these conditions.
The deciding factor: The VA medical opinion provided in the July 2014 rating decision was inadequate because it did not consider the Veteran's lay statements or the documented in-service treatment for ankle pain, and whether the claimed conditions are secondary to service-connected left knee disability. Additionally, there is no opinion on whether any current ankle disability is aggravated by service-connected left knee disability.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral ankle disability, left plantar fasciitis, pes planus
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 5, 2019
- Citation
- 19160652
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 19160652.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board denied increased ratings for the Veteran's back, right ring finger, and left foot hallux valgus disabilities but granted an initial 30 percent rating for pes planus from August 17, 2021, a 50 percent rating for pes planus from December 15, 2023, and a separate 10 percent rating for bilateral plantar fasciitis from August 17, 2021.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for multiple disabilities, including bilateral wrist, ankle, foot, shoulder, allergic rhinitis, sinusitis, lumbosacral spine, and carpal tunnel syndrome, as the evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were related to active service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a left foot disability to correct a pre-decisional duty to assist error, specifically regarding an inadequate October 2024 VA examination.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for pes planus, bilateral degenerative changes of the feet, bilateral hammertoe deformity, bilateral foot ulcers, and onychomycosis as there was no evidence to support an increase in severity during active service.
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