The Veteran's bilateral pes planus disability has been granted an initial rating of 30 percent.,The Board is remanding the claims for service connection for left knee, right knee, lower back, and sleep apnea disabilities due to pre-decisional duty to assist errors.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner's opinions were inadequate as they did not provide a rationale for their conclusions regarding the Veteran's diagnosed disabilities.,VA is required to afford the Veteran adequate medical opinions before issuing the June 2021 rating decision on appeal, particularly in relation to the causal relationship between his diagnosed disabilities and his active-duty service.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Pes Planus, Left Knee Disability, Right Knee Disability, Lower Back Disability, Sleep Apnea Disability (Gulf War Exposures)
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 29, 2024
- Citation
- A24051175
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 A24051175.
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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