The Board remands the claims for service connection for various disabilities, including an acquired psychiatric disability, a left ankle disability, a right shoulder disability, a lumbar spine disability, bilateral plantar fasciitis, and a stomach disability (claimed as stomach parasite), to obtain additional medical evidence.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner's opinions were found inadequate due to lack of rationale addressing the Veteran's contentions and the need for an addendum opinion with adequate rationale connecting the Veteran's current conditions to his in-service injuries or illnesses.
- Claimed conditions
- Acquired psychiatric disability, Left ankle disability, Right shoulder disability, Lumbar spine disability, Bilateral plantar fasciitis, Stomach disability (claimed as stomach parasite), to exclude irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 4, 2025
- Citation
- A25009759
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,858 · 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 A25009759.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal regarding attorney fees for past-due benefits awarded in a June 2021 rating decision is dismissed as moot due to the waiver of rights by R.V.C.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's request to readjudicate the claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability with alcohol and drug abuse is granted. The Board has determined that new and relevant evidence sufficient to readjudicate the claim has been received, but further development is needed due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error regarding verification of reported deaths in service.
- Granted
The Board has granted the appellant's claim for service connection for left ankle disability residuals, finding that his current condition is due to an in-service injury and granting the benefit of the doubt.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the claim of service connection for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) secondary to bilateral plantar fasciitis and left shoulder tendinitis due to inadequate medical opinion regarding causation.
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