The Veteran's left foot disability is not service-connected, but his acquired psychiatric condition related to service is granted.,Service connection for bilateral hearing loss and acne prior to February 27, 2020 are denied. A higher rating for acne from February 27, 2020 is also denied.
The deciding factor: The VA-contracted examiner found no evidence of cellulitis or plantar fasciitis related to service and opined that the Veteran's current left foot disability was less likely than not aggravated by a bite and cellulitis in service.,The VA-contracted examiner diagnosed other specified trauma and stressor related disorder, finding it at least as likely as not incurred in service due to combat exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- Acquired psychiatric disability (other specified trauma and stressor related disorder), Left foot disability (plantar fasciitis)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 16, 2020
- Citation
- 20067187
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,858 · Granted: 24% (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 20067187.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for sinusitis and remanded the remaining claims for further development.
- Denied
The Board found that the Veteran's service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability was properly severed due to lack of qualifying service on January 5, 1991.
- Granted
The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disability, asthma, and COPD are granted service connection. The respiratory disabilities are presumed related to exposure to burn pits while serving in Afghanistan under the PACT Act.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for right ear hearing loss, left ear hearing loss, left foot disability (plantar fasciitis), and right foot disability (plantar fasciitis) due to inadequate medical opinions in prior VA examinations. The Veteran's service connection claims are intertwined with his rating claim.
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