The Board remands the claims for service connection for left and right foot disabilities to correct a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
The deciding factor: The VA opinions are inadequate as they rely on the lack of treatment, which is not the correct standard. The examiner should address the Veteran's reports and lay statements in formulating an opinion.
- Claimed conditions
- arthritis, left foot, arthritis, right foot
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 12, 2025
- Citation
- A25051858
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,092 · Granted: 42% (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 A25051858.
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 remands the issue of entitlement to service connection for arthritis, right foot due to an error in failing to provide a hearing notice as required by VA regulations.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for arthritis in both feet and bilateral pes planus to ensure VA complies with its duty to assist by obtaining an adequate medical opinion.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remanded all issues related to service connection for various arthritis conditions and tinnitus. The Veteran's claims will be re-evaluated with additional evidence.
- Partly granted
The Board has denied service connection for arthritis in the right foot and an evaluation higher than 10 percent for maxillary sinus fracture residual. The left foot issue is remanded.,The Veteran's claim of increased rating for maxillary sinus fracture residual remains denied.
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