The appeal is remanded due to a pre-decisional duty-to-assist error regarding the initial rating assigned for plantar fasciitis with pes planus.
The deciding factor: VA failed to fulfill its duty to assist prior to the issuance of the July 2023 rating decision, as it did not obtain additional relevant private treatment records despite the Veteran's May 2023 statement that such records were available.
- Claimed conditions
- plantar fasciitis with pes planus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 10, 2025
- Citation
- A25012062
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,863 · Granted: 26% (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 A25012062.
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 has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for plantar fasciitis with pes planus and loss of sense of smell due to duty to assist errors. The Veteran is required to provide a VA examination regarding the etiology of his diagnoses.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection for obesity as secondary to his service-connected plantar fasciitis with pes planus has been withdrawn, and the claim is dismissed. The Veteran also withdrew his appeal seeking an increased evaluation for sleep apnea.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew her appeals for service connection for various conditions, including plantar fasciitis with pes planus, sinusitis, left varicose veins, right varicose veins, allergic rhinitis, and bilateral hearing loss. As a result, the appeal is dismissed.
- Dismissed
The appeals seeking earlier effective dates for the grants of service connection for left foot hallux valgus, right foot hallux valgus, and plantar fasciitis with pes planus have been dismissed.,The appeals seeking service connection for migraine headaches, total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) due to service-connected disabilities, and non-service-connected pension are remanded.
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