The Board has remanded the claims for bilateral plantar fasciitis with plantar fibromatosis, degenerative arthritis of the right foot, degenerative arthritis of the left foot, degenerative arthritis of the right ankle, and degenerative arthritis of the left ankle due to inadequate opinions from VA examiners.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the VA examiners' opinions were insufficient to adjudicate the claims as they did not adequately address the Appellant's reports of ongoing pain during service related to wearing military boots.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral plantar fasciitis with plantar fibromatosis, degenerative arthritis of the right foot, degenerative arthritis of the left foot, degenerative arthritis of the right ankle, degenerative arthritis of the left ankle
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 1, 2020
- Citation
- A20017800
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,614 · Granted: 35% (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 A20017800.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for additional development due to inadequate medical opinions in the original decision. The issues of service connection are being addressed.
- Denied
The Board denied a TDIU due to the Veteran's service-connected disabilities not preventing him from securing and following a substantially gainful occupation.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims of entitlement to increased ratings for bilateral shin splints and ankle conditions due to a failure by the AOJ to consider the ameliorative effects of medications used to treat the Veteran's disabilities. The VA must provide adequate examinations that address the severity of her service-connected bilateral shin and ankle conditions, considering the ameliorative effects of any medication taken.
- Dismissed
The Board has granted service connection for various hip, ankle, and knee conditions. However, the Veteran did not appeal these decisions to the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC), so the claims are dismissed.
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