The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for a right shoulder condition and bilateral plantar fasciitis due to insufficient opinions in the VA examination reports. The examiner is requested to provide an opinion on whether it is at least as likely as not that these conditions are related to her military service.
The deciding factor: The Board found the April 2021 VA examiners' opinions inadequate and remanded for further clarification regarding the Veteran's reported in-service injuries and continuity of symptomatology following separation from service.
- Claimed conditions
- right shoulder condition (tear of infraspinatus tendon and AC joint degenerative changes), bilateral plantar fasciitis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 9, 2021
- Citation
- 21073662
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 21073662.
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.
- Dismissed
The appeals regarding the evaluation of bilateral plantar fasciitis and residuals of fractures of the second, fourth, and fifth left toes, as well as the evaluation of bilateral lower extremity peripheral neuropathy with loss of use, are dismissed as untimely.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to an inadequate VA medical opinion regarding the relationship between the Veteran's bilateral plantar fasciitis and his service. The Veteran is seeking service connection for this condition.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for bilateral plantar fasciitis, finding that the Veteran's pre-existing pes planus condition was aggravated by service. The effective date is August 15, 2025.
- Granted
The Veteran's claims for service connection and increased ratings have been granted. The initial rating of 10 percent, but not higher, has been assigned for pulmonary sarcoidosis. Service connection has also been established for migraine headaches, degenerative arthritis in the left knee, right knee disorder (osteoarthritis), right ankle sprain, right shoulder rotator cuff tendonitis, bilateral flat feet, and various foot conditions.
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