The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for asthma and a compensable initial disability rating for left foot and right foot pes planus, plantar fasciitis, and hammer toes, 2nd toes due to procedural errors in the VA examination and opinion provided. The appellant's representative sought earlier effective dates for other claims but these are not before the Board.
The deciding factor: The VA medical opinion did not address the standard clarified in Spicer v. McDonough (2023) regarding secondary service connection, which is required to determine if asthma is related to persistent depressive disorder and whether it would be less severe without the service-connected condition.
- Claimed conditions
- asthma, left foot and right foot pes planus, plantar fasciitis, and hammer toes, 2nd toes
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 12, 2024
- Citation
- A24037774
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 A24037774.
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 respiratory disability, including asthma and COPD, is denied as service connection is not warranted due to the condition being solely attributed to smoking.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the cases of sleep apnea and asthma due to a failure to provide proper notice for a hearing.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for service connection for asthma and a 10 percent rating based on multiple noncompensable service-connected disabilities were dismissed. The claim of entitlement to a compensable rating for eczema was denied, while the claim of entitlement to allergic rhinitis was not addressed as it pertained to different issues.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities rendered him unable to secure and follow substantially gainful employment prior to August 14, 2023.
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