The Board remands the claims for service connection for heart disease, right ankle sprain, right foot disability, and left foot disability to obtain a VA examination and opinion in accordance with the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act of 2022 (PACT Act) and an addendum opinion addressing aggravation by the Veteran's service-connected right knee disability.
The deciding factor: The evidence is insufficient to establish a nexus between the Veteran's heart disease, right ankle sprain, right foot disability, and left foot disability and his military service. A remand is necessary for a VA examination and an addendum opinion addressing aggravation by the Veteran's service-connected right knee disability.
- Claimed conditions
- Heart disease, to include coronary artery disease (CAD), Left foot disability, Right ankle sprain, Right foot disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 10, 2025
- Citation
- A25050864
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,062 · Granted: 34% (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 A25050864.
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 right and left foot disabilities are currently rated at 10 percent each, but the Board found that they do not meet or approximate the criteria for a higher rating under any applicable diagnostic codes.
- Dismissed
The appeal for a compensable rating for acne vulgaris is dismissed. Service connection for tinnitus is granted, but the left foot disability claim is remanded.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the appeals for service connection for a right foot disability and an increased rating for bilateral hearing loss. The Veteran's claims for service connection for left knee, right knee, and low back disabilities have been granted.
- Granted
The Board has granted a rating of 30 percent for the Veteran's right ankle sprain with pain and limitations in mobility, finding that his symptoms are functionally equivalent to ankylosis. The Veteran is not entitled to a higher rating as there is no evidence of actual ankylosis or ankylosis equivalent.
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