The Board has remanded the case due to unclear opinions from a VA examiner regarding whether the Veteran's right foot arthritis is related to his service-connected right knee degenerative arthritis, and if so, whether it is secondary or aggravated by that condition.
The deciding factor: The decision was remanded because the VA examiner's opinions were confusing and did not provide adequate rationale for their conclusions.
- Claimed conditions
- right foot arthritis
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 13, 2020
- Citation
- 20073164
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 the veteran's claims for service connection, higher ratings, and earlier effective dates, as well as dismissed his claim for a TDIU.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for right foot arthritis and an earlier effective date of January 3, 2017, for a psychiatric disability rating, but denied service connection for left ankle disorder, right ankle arthritis (secondary to PTSD), increased rating for psychiatric disability, TDIU, and obstructive sleep apnea.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for bilateral foot degeneration, bilateral foot arthritis and bilateral upper extremity neuropathy as secondary to a service-connected condition due to incomplete medical opinions.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for multiple conditions, including a lumbar spine disorder and various peripheral neuropathies, as the probative evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were related to the Veteran's active military service.
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