The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection and SMC due to loss of use of his feet, as these matters are inextricably intertwined with his claims for service connection for his back and bilateral nerve and foot disabilities.
The deciding factor: The claims are inextricably intertwined because a January 2020 medical opinion concluded the Veteran's depressive disorder was due to his chronic back pain. The appropriate remedy is to remand these claims pending adjudication of the inextricably intertwined claim for service connection.
- Claimed conditions
- Thoracolumbar Spine, Left Foot Neurological Disability, Right Foot Neurological Disability, Left Foot Plantar Fasciitis, Right Foot Plantar Fasciitis, Right Knee Disability, Left Knee Disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 31, 2023
- Citation
- 23058634
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 23058634.
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 Veteran's service-connected knee disabilities are rated at 10% each, and the Board finds that higher ratings are not warranted based on the evidence of record.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral knee disabilities are not related to his active service, and thus denied both claims for service connection.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection of a right knee disability, finding that there is no evidence to support an etiological relationship between his current condition and his military service.
- Denied
The Veteran's left knee disability is currently rated at 30 percent, and the Board finds no evidence of clear and unmistakable error in assigning an effective date of June 19, 2002.
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