The Veteran's right calcaneal spur is granted service connection. The claims for left ankle, right ankle, and left little finger disabilities are remanded due to inadequate VA examination opinions.
The deciding factor: The March 2022 VA examiner failed to address relevant evidence of record regarding the etiology of the claimed disabilities, including the Veteran's lay assertions about in-service injuries. The Board finds these deficiencies render the opinion inadequate and requires additional examination and opinion.
- Claimed conditions
- Right calcaneal spur (heel spur), Left ankle disability, Right ankle disability, Left little finger disability, to include disjointed scar, Hiatal hernia/gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), Conjunctivitis and/or residuals of conjunctivitis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 6, 2022
- Citation
- 22033018
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 22033018.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date of January 10, 1997, for a 10% disability rating for his right ankle disability is denied as there was no CUE in the previous decisions.
- Granted
The Board has granted the appellant's claim for service connection for left ankle disability residuals, finding that his current condition is due to an in-service injury and granting the benefit of the doubt.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding whether the Veteran's right ankle disability is related to his service. The VA examiner must provide an opinion on this matter.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's claims for service connection have been dismissed due to their death.
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