The Veteran's right foot calcaneal spur is rated as moderate, and an increased rating in excess of 10 percent is denied.,Service connection for PTSD was granted on February 5, 2013 with no effective date prior to that decision.,Grants of service connection for right and left knee patellofemoral syndrome with shin splints were also granted on February 5, 2013 with no effective dates prior to that decision.,The Veteran's respiratory disability, including asthma and COPD, is remanded due to inadequate VA examination opinions.,The Veteran's left ankle disability is remanded for a new VA examination to determine the nature of his current condition.,An evaluation in excess of 70 percent for PTSD is remanded due to lack of recent VA examination.,Evaluations in excess of 10 percent for right and left knee patellofemoral syndrome with shin splints are also remanded for a new VA examination.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's right foot calcaneal spur is rated as moderate, which does not warrant an increased rating.,Service connection for PTSD was granted on February 5, 2013 and no effective date prior to that decision is available.,Grants of service connection for right and left knee patellofemoral syndrome with shin splints were also granted on February 5, 2013 and no effective dates prior to that decision are available.,The VA examination opinions regarding the Veteran's respiratory disability are inadequate and need to be revised.,A new VA examination is needed to determine if the Veteran has a current left ankle condition related to service.,An evaluation in excess of 70 percent for PTSD requires a recent VA examination to assess its severity.,Evaluations in excess of 10 percent for right and left knee patellofemoral syndrome with shin splints require a new VA examination to determine the current extent of disability.
- Claimed conditions
- Left ankle disability, Posttraumatic stress disorder with major depressive disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder (PTSD), Respiratory disability, to include asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD), Right foot calcaneal spur
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 15, 2019
- Citation
- 19162892
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,549 · 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 19162892.
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 Board has granted the appellant's claim for service connection for left ankle disability residuals, finding that his current condition is due to an in-service injury and granting the benefit of the doubt.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's claims for service connection have been dismissed due to their death.
- Granted
The Veteran's left ankle disability and headache disorder secondary to PTSD with alcohol use disorder have been granted increased ratings, effective September 16, 2018.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection were denied as the increase in severity of his conditions was not factually ascertainable within one year prior to March 30, 2023.,The effective dates for the grants of service connection for left knee instability and right knee instability are also denied.
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