The Board remands the matter to obtain further development, including a medical opinion addressing whether the Veteran's perceived left ankle instability and rolling are directly due and related to his service-connected left foot disability.
The deciding factor: The January 2025 VA medical opinion did not address whether the Veteran's symptoms of left ankle rolling and perceived left ankle instability were directly due and related to his service-connected left foot plantar fasciitis, necessitating a remand for further development.
- Claimed conditions
- left foot plantar fasciitis, left heel calcaneal spur, left foot hallux valgus-post surgical, left foot arthritis, bilateral pes planus, moderately severe tibialis posterior tendon (TTP), left ankle degenerative arthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 10, 2025
- Citation
- 25004887
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,886 · Granted: 24% (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 25004887.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's migraine headaches are rated at 50% and cannot be increased.,SMC at the housebound rate is granted from January 11, 2021 due to multiple service-connected disabilities.,A TDIU rating effective October 28, 2011 is granted based on inability to secure or follow substantially gainful employment due to migraine headaches.,Eligibility for DEA benefits is granted but no earlier than the date of claim (April 5, 1999).
- Denied
The Board denied the Appellant's requests for earlier effective dates for his service connection for bilateral pes planus and gynecomastia scar residuals, finding that the earliest possible effective dates are the dates of receipt of the claims.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the claims for increased rating and service connection must be remanded due to inadequate examinations and duty-to-assist errors.
- Denied
The Veteran's hypertension, bilateral pes planus, PTSD, and anxiety were all denied as service connection was not established based on the evidence of record.,Bilateral pes planus was denied due to lack of current diagnosis.
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