The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for a back disorder secondary to his bilateral foot disability, rating in excess of 30 percent prior to April 13, 2023, and total disability rating due to individual unemployability. The remand requires additional medical opinions on causation and aggravation of the back disorder, as well as a retrospective evaluation of the Veteran's bilateral foot disability.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the existing medical evidence was insufficient to determine whether the Veteran's back disorder is caused or aggravated by his service-connected bilateral foot disability. The remand also requires an assessment of the severity of the Veteran's bilateral foot disability throughout the period on appeal.
- Claimed conditions
- Back disorder, Plantar fasciitis, Hammer toes, Residuals of club feet, heel varus (bilateral foot disability)
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 2, 2024
- Citation
- 24000042
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 785 · Granted: 47% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 24000042.
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 conditions do not render him so helpless as to be in need of regular aid and attendance, thus his claim for special monthly compensation based on the need for aid and attendance is denied.
- Partly granted
The Board has granted service connection for allergic rhinitis and dismissed the proposed severance of service connection for plantar fasciitis. The Veteran's current allergic rhinitis is considered to have started during his period of active duty for training.
- Denied
The Board found no evidence of a current bilateral foot pain disorder related to service and denied the claim.
- Granted
The Veteran's back disorder is granted a rating of 10 percent, and his chronic kidney disease is granted service connection based on being secondary to his service-connected hypertension.
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