The Board has determined that the Veteran's claims for service connection for various ankle, hip, knee, and foot conditions are remanded due to a lack of a VA examination or medical opinion. The Veteran served as an infantry rifleman and contends his current disabilities are related to this role.
The deciding factor: The Board found there was insufficient evidence regarding the relationship between the Veteran's service-connected military occupational specialty and his claimed disabilities, necessitating further evaluation through a VA examination.
- Claimed conditions
- ankle sprain, bilateral, hip sprain, bilateral, knee strain or sprain, bilateral, plantar fasciitis, bilateral, meniscus tear, right knee
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 14, 2026
- Citation
- A26033994
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 A26033994.
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.
- Partly granted
The veteran's claim for higher ratings for shoulder and back conditions was denied, but a 10% rating for plantar fasciitis was granted effective February 16, 2023.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for peptic ulcer disease, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), PTSD, hair loss, and hearing loss. The claims for other conditions were remanded.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remanded the veteran's claims for service connection for gallbladder removal, ingrown toenail, left knee pain, right knee pain, plantar fasciitis, and right shoulder dislocation. The Board found that the AOJ did not adequately consider the Veteran's statements regarding current symptoms, in-service events/causes, and possible continuity of symptoms.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's service-connected left-ear hearing loss was rated as noncompensable, and his service-connected plantar fasciitis, bilateral, was rated at 10 percent. The Board remanded the claim for an increased rating of tinnitus.,The Veteran's service-connected plantar fasciitis, bilateral, was rated at 10 percent. The Board found that there is no evidence to support a higher rating and remanded the case for further development.
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