The Board has determined that additional development is needed to determine the etiology of the Veteran's right Achilles tendon disability and whether it is related to service or a service-connected condition.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner’s opinion was inadequate as it did not consider the Veteran's lay testimony regarding his in-service injury and its relationship to his current condition, nor did it properly address the aggravation standard for secondary service connection claims.
- Claimed conditions
- Right Achilles tendon disability
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 4, 2019
- Citation
- 19191113
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,062 · Granted: 34% (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 19191113.
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 Veteran's claims for service connection for left and right Achilles tendon disabilities, finding no evidence of in-service injury or disease related to these conditions.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection of his right Achilles tendon and/or right ankle disability, finding that it did not begin during service or is otherwise related to an in-service injury. The claim was also denied on secondary service connection as well.
- Granted
The Veteran's cervical spine disability is granted, and the claims for other conditions are remanded.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for a right Achilles tendon disability and PTSD have been denied as there is no evidence of current disabilities related to active service.
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