The Board has determined that there was a pre-decisional duty to assist error and requires additional development, including an addendum VA opinion regarding the Veteran's bilateral foot disability.
The deciding factor: The November 2020 and December 2020 VA opinions were inadequate for determining service connection due to their failure to address whether the Veteran's preexisting bilateral foot disabilities were aggravated by service.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral pes planus, hammer toes, degenerative arthritis
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 6, 2026
- Citation
- A26030990
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 A26030990.
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.
- Granted
The Board has restored the Veteran's rating for his right elbow condition from 10 percent to 20 percent effective May 5, 2025, finding that the evidence was in equipoise regarding whether there had been improvement in the Veteran's ability to function under ordinary conditions of life and work.
- Granted
The Board has granted earlier effective dates of January 13, 2020 for the service connection of low back disability and related radiculopathy issues. The Veteran's claims were reopened due to new evidence submitted in January 2020.
- Denied
The Board denied the Appellant's requests for earlier effective dates for his service connection for bilateral pes planus and gynecomastia scar residuals, finding that the earliest possible effective dates are the dates of receipt of the claims.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's lumbosacral strain with degenerative arthritis, finding that it is related to his in-service injury. The claimant did not contest this decision.
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