The Board remands the claims for a rating in excess of 40 percent for right foot tarsal tunnel syndrome with right lower extremity lumbar radiculopathy, a rating in excess of 10 percent or left foot tarsal tunnel syndrome with left lower extremity lumbar radiculopathy, and ratings in excess of 30 percent and 20 percent respectively for right rotator cuff tendinitis, AC joint osteoarthritis, and degenerative joint disease, and left rotator cuff tendinitis, AC joint osteoarthritis, and degenerative joint disease.
The deciding factor: The remand is necessary to address deficiencies in the VA examinations regarding pain medication effects and range of motion testing for weight-bearing and non-weight-bearing conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- right foot tarsal tunnel syndrome, right lower extremity lumbar radiculopathy, left foot tarsal tunnel syndrome, left lower extremity lumbar radiculopathy, right rotator cuff tendinitis, AC joint osteoarthritis, and degenerative joint disease, left rotator cuff tendinitis, AC joint osteoarthritis, and degenerative joint disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 21, 2025
- Citation
- A25015729
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 696 · Granted: 63% (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 A25015729.
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 claims for service connection for various conditions, including a left wrist fracture, bilateral hearing loss, Type II diabetes, bilateral glaucoma, OSA, cervical disc herniation, and other musculoskeletal issues are denied.,Service connection is not established for any of the claimed conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for higher initial disability ratings for right and left foot tarsal tunnel syndrome due to a duty to assist error. The VA examiners are instructed to provide an opinion regarding the severity of the Veteran's bilateral tarsal tunnel syndrome without considering the ameliorative effects of medication used.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection on multiple conditions has been dismissed due to their death during the pendency of the appeal.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's right lower extremity lumbar radiculopathy is caused by his service-connected lumbosacral strain, granting service connection on a secondary basis.
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