The Board has decided to remand the case due to lack of substantial compliance with previous remands and for obtaining a new opinion on whether the Veteran's bilateral foot disability is related to service or secondary to his service-connected back disability.
The deciding factor: The previous VA opinion was inadequate as it did not consider the Veteran’s credible reports of continuous symptoms since service and used an incorrect standard for aggravation in secondary service connection.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral foot disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 20, 2020
- Citation
- 20067680
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 service connection for bilateral foot disability, respiratory disability (breathing difficulty), cardiac disability (irregular heartbeat), and right hip disability as there was no evidence of a current disability or a link to active service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a bilateral foot disability to obtain an addendum medical opinion addressing whether the Veteran's pre-existing pes planus was aggravated by service.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for multiple disabilities, including bilateral wrist, ankle, foot, shoulder, allergic rhinitis, sinusitis, lumbosacral spine, and carpal tunnel syndrome, as the evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were related to active service.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for tinnitus, a right shoulder disability, diabetes mellitus type II, left and right lower extremity neuropathy, and a bilateral foot disability as secondary to diabetes mellitus due to lack of new and relevant evidence.
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