The Board denied service connection for right and left foot disabilities, finding no evidence of a direct relationship to service or aggravation by the Veteran's service-connected right knee disability. The claims for service connection for bilateral lower extremity disabilities were remanded.
The deciding factor: The VA examiners found that the Veteran’s current foot conditions are not related to his military service and are not aggravated by his service-connected right knee condition, while the lower extremity claims require further examination due to incomplete medical opinions.
- Claimed conditions
- Right foot disability, Left foot disability
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 1, 2020
- Citation
- 20064217
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 appeal for an increased rating for the acquired psychiatric disorder and other disabilities was denied, with no increase in the assigned ratings.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error regarding VA's obligation to obtain relevant records from the Social Security Administration.
- Partly granted
The Board granted the readjudication of claims for service connection based on new and relevant evidence, but remanded other claims for further examination.
- Granted
The Board granted an August 14, 2009 effective date for the assignment of special monthly compensation (SMC) based on the need for regular aid and attendance under 38 U.S.C. § 1114(l).
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