The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for a heart disorder and bilateral foot disorder due to inadequate opinions regarding their etiology. The Veteran's heart condition is being reviewed again, including considering his medications and prior diagnoses, while the bilateral foot disorder claim requires an opinion addressing the Veteran's lay statements.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the previous opinions were insufficient as they did not consider all relevant evidence, including the Veteran's medication list and prior diagnoses of heart conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- Heart Disorder, Bilateral Foot Disorder (Pes Planus)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 23, 2021
- Citation
- 21076439
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 21076439.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the service connection claims for Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Heart Disorder due to a duty to assist error in obtaining opinions regarding whether these conditions are aggravated by the Veteran's service-connected acquired psychiatric disorder.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for a heart disorder and OSA, as secondary to a heart disorder due to incomplete records and failure to consider all relevant in-service exposures. The Veteran's exposure to PFAS at Robins AFB is acknowledged, but further development is needed to address his COPD and smoking history.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim of compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for a heart disorder is being remanded due to the inadequacy of the July 2020 VA medical opinion, which did not adequately address the Veteran's assertions regarding the carelessness or negligence of his health care providers and the failure to diagnose and treat his heart condition.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's heart disorder, characterized as an exercise induced left bundle branch block, began during his active duty service and is therefore granted service connection.
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