The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for pes planus and other foot disabilities due to further development being required. The case will be returned to the AOJ for an addendum medical opinion regarding the etiology of these conditions.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner was instructed to consider whether there is clear and unmistakable evidence that any increase in severity of the pre-existing pes planus during service was due to the natural progress of the disease, as well as address the Veteran's other foot disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- pes planus, bilateral achilles tendonitis, plantar fasciitis, heel spurs
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 29, 2021
- Citation
- 21077382
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 21077382.
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.
- 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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for service connection for athletes' foot, low back strain, and plantar fasciitis due to a lack of a VA examination prior to the August 2020 rating decision.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral plantar fasciitis with pes planus, finding that her current condition had its onset during active military service.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal of an earlier effective date for service connection for bilateral pes planus and plantar fasciitis has been dismissed as the Veteran withdrew his appeal prior to a decision being made.
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