The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient opinion regarding whether the Veteran's foot disorder is secondary to his service-connected diabetes mellitus, type 2. The examiner must now address this issue and provide an opinion on whether the foot disorder is aggravated by the service-connected condition.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner did not address whether the Veteran’s service-connected diabetes mellitus, type 2, aggravated his foot disorder.
- Claimed conditions
- metatarsalgia of the right foot, left foot disorder (not specified)
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 19, 2019
- Citation
- 19187028
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,863 · Granted: 26% (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 19187028.
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 service-connected bilateral pes planus, metatarsalgia of both feet, plantar fasciitis of both feet, and neuropathy of both feet have been granted effective July 14, 2014. The Veteran also received a separate rating for hammertoes of the right foot (10%) and left foot (10%), as well as arthritis of the first MTP joint of the right and left foot (10%).
- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran's preexisting right foot disorder did not worsen during service, and thus cannot be granted service connection for metatarsalgia of the right foot.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for further development regarding his right foot disability, specifically addressing whether he has metatarsalgia and hammertoes of the right foot that are related to his service-connected heloma durum. The case will be readjudicated based on this additional information.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities have been granted increased ratings, with some conditions receiving separate ratings for different parts of their body.,Several conditions received specific and higher ratings based on more severe manifestations.
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