The Board has remanded three issues: 1) the issue of entitlement to an initial evaluation greater than 30 percent for bilateral pes planus, 2) service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder (depression), and 3) service connection for left and right ankle/leg disabilities. The Veteran's depression is secondary to his service-connected foot disabilities, but the VA examiner’s opinion was inadequate as it did not address the relationship between pain caused by service-connected disabilities and the Veteran's depression. For the ankle/leg issues, the VA examiner found that the degenerative joint disease of the bilateral ankles is not proximately due or aggravated by the service-connected foot disabilities. The obesity causing the Veteran's degenerative joint disease of the bilateral ankles was also not addressed in the opinion.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner’s opinions were inadequate as they did not address the relationship between pain caused by service-connected disabilities and the Veteran's depression, nor did they adequately consider whether the altered biomechanics from the service-connected foot disabilities contributed to the degenerative joint disease of the bilateral ankles or if obesity was a substantial factor in causing the disability.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral pes planus, acquired psychiatric disorder (depression), left ankle/leg disability, right ankle/leg disability
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 22, 2021
- Citation
- 21024371
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 21024371.
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.
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- Denied
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- Denied
The Veteran's hypertension, bilateral pes planus, PTSD, and anxiety were all denied as service connection was not established based on the evidence of record.,Bilateral pes planus was denied due to lack of current diagnosis.
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