The Board has remanded the cases for further examination and opinion regarding the Veteran's claimed foot and ankle disabilities, as well as their relationship to service or service-connected flat feet.
The deciding factor: The examiner must opine whether any diagnosed disorder is at least as likely as not related to an in-service injury, event, or disease, including as whether it is proximately due to service-connected disability or aggravated beyond its natural progression by service-connected flat feet.
- Claimed conditions
- flat feet, right foot arthritis, left foot arthritis, right ankle arthritis, left ankle arthritis
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 13, 2020
- Citation
- 20012105
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 20012105.
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 service connection for obstructive sleep apnea and dismissed all other appeals related to various joint conditions.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the appeals for all claims of service connection, including those for bilateral flat feet, thoracolumbar spine degenerative arthritis, cervical spine degenerative arthritis, right CTS, left CTS, essential tremors, right ankle arthritis, right shoulder arthritis, and left knee arthritis. The appeal of sleep apnea was granted in a July 2024 rating decision.
- Dismissed
The appeal of the proposed reduction in PTSD rating from 70% to 50%, and for service connection claims related to various joints and diabetes mellitus type II, has been dismissed due to procedural issues. The Veteran withdrew his appeals.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew his appeals for tinnitus, bilateral hearing loss, flat feet, unspecified anxiety disorder, and bottom lip scar.
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