The Veteran's pes planus was granted service connection. The Board has ordered remand for further development regarding other bilateral lower extremity disabilities and the relationship between these conditions and his service-connected rheumatoid arthritis and pes planus.
The deciding factor: The case requires additional medical opinions to address the secondary service connection claims and obtain missing medical records from Mease Medical Clinic.
- Claimed conditions
- pes planus, plantar fasciitis, shin splints/medial tibial stress syndrome, calcaneal spurs, arthritis of the feet, including degenerative arthritis of the hindfeet and extensive degenerative changes along the tarsal rows with evidence of previous posttraumatic changes, degenerative changes of the lumbar spine, neurological impairment of the lower extremities, degenerative changes of the right knee, degenerative changes of the left knee (now with total knee replacement), arthritis of the ankles
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 13, 2024
- Citation
- 24011931
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 24011931.
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 remands the claim for a medical opinion on whether plantar fasciitis was aggravated by active duty training.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for migraine headaches as secondary to the Veteran's asthma with sinusitis, but denied service connection for a low back sprain and plantar fasciitis. The claim for a neck condition was dismissed.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for multiple conditions, including left and right leg, arm, knee, shoulder, kidney, plantar fasciitis, and back conditions, as further development is needed to address pre-decisional duty to assist errors.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for bronchitis, COPD, asthma, and plantar fasciitis as not being related to the Veteran's military service. The Board also denied an increased rating for painful malunion of the left clavicle, compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), and a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
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