The Veteran's service connection claims for right and left foot disabilities, as well as right and left ankle disabilities, are being remanded due to insufficient evidence regarding the onset of these conditions during active service or their relationship to any incident of service.
The deciding factor: The Board found that there is not enough evidence to determine whether the Veteran's pre-existing pes planus was aggravated by service or if the current foot and ankle disabilities were incurred in service.
- Claimed conditions
- right foot disability (pes planus), left foot disability (pes planus), right ankle disability, left ankle disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 6, 2023
- Citation
- 23064704
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 23064704.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has expanded the scope of the claim to include any mental health disorder raised by the record and has remanded for additional development regarding service connection for left leg, ankle, and psychiatric disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for left, right ankle disabilities, left and right hip disabilities, left and right shin splints, and left and right knee disabilities due to inadequate nexus opinions in the VA examination reports. The Veteran contends that her current disabilities are related to injuries sustained during basic training.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the appeals for service connection of left knee disability, tension headaches, a left ankle disability, and a back disability due to the Veteran's death.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to new evidence received, and a need for additional medical opinions considering the Veteran's military occupation as a water safety survival instructor.
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