The Veteran's appeal includes requests for an increased disability rating and an earlier effective date for the assignment of a 10 percent disability evaluation for stress fractures of the bilateral heels. Both issues are being remanded due to procedural deficiencies.
The deciding factor: Procedural deficiencies in the issuance of a statement of the case (SOC) have been identified, necessitating further development.
- Claimed conditions
- stress fractures of bilateral heels
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 9, 2022
- Citation
- 22067984
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 22067984.
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 Veteran's stress fractures of bilateral heels are rated at a 10% disability rating. The Board has granted a 30% disability rating as of August 22, 2017.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to the need for additional medical examination and review of evidence, including a new VA examination to assess the veteran's bilateral foot disability and any potential relationship with his back disability. The claim for service connection for a back disability is inextricably intertwined with the increased rating claim.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
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