The Board has remanded the case for further development and consideration of issues related to service connection for bilateral heel disabilities, timely substantive appeal regarding severance of service connection for degenerative joint disease of the left knee, rating in excess of 10 percent for degenerative joint disease of left knee from 2009 to 2017, and entitlement to TDIU.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the matter related to whether a timely substantive appeal was received following the issuance of the November 2018 SOC must be initially addressed, developed, and certified for appellate consideration.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral heel disability, degenerative joint disease of left knee
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 18, 2023
- Citation
- 23022671
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 23022671.
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.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a current diagnosis of a bilateral heel disability and therefore, service connection for this condition is denied.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the appeals for service connection of diabetes mellitus, heart disability, bilateral heel disability, and hypertension as they are not eligible to be adjudicated due to the appellant's death.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for a bilateral heel disability as secondary to his service-connected cervical spine disability. The evidence is approximately balanced as to whether the Veteran's current bilateral heel disability was caused by his May 2014 surgery on his service-connected cervical spine disability and recovery.
- Granted
The Veteran's coronary artery disease was granted a 100% rating from February 18, 2013 to June 25, 2015. The claims for increased ratings of his right and left knee disabilities are remanded.
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