Foot (incl. plantar fasciitis, flat feet) Board decisions

The Board has remanded the case for additional development due to incomplete records and need for further medical examinations.

The veteran has withdrawn his appeal for increased evaluations of plantar fasciitis/heel spur syndrome and lumbosacral spine disorder with hypertrophic spurring and sacroiliac joint dysfunction.

The Board granted service connection for bilateral pes planus and assigned an initial noncompensable rating for the scar of the left arm. The veteran's current symptoms, including pain, were considered in determining the appropriate disability ratings.

The veteran's headaches are found to be aggravated by his service-connected right knee disability. Service connection is granted for the status-post bunionectomy, with surgical scar, hallux valgus, and plantar fasciitis of each foot. The initial compensable ratings for these conditions remain unchanged. Higher initial disability ratings for instability of the right knee and limitation of flexion and traumatic arthritis are denied.

The Board has determined that the veteran does not have a current diagnosis of any of the conditions he is seeking service connection for, and therefore, these claims are denied.

The Board denied the veteran's appeal because he did not file a timely substantive appeal regarding the July 1979 rating decision that reduced his right foot disability evaluation from 10% to noncompensable.

The Board denied the veteran's claims of service connection for bilateral plantar fasciitis and a lumbosacral disability, finding that there was no evidence to support direct service connection or secondary service connection due to his pre-existing foot condition. The Board also found clear and unmistakable evidence that the veteran's preexisting plantar fasciitis did not worsen during service.

The Board has found that the veteran's bilateral shin splints were incurred during his active duty service and granted service connection for this condition.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for right knee, left knee, low back, and right foot disabilities due to a lack of evidence linking these conditions to his military service.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for a plantar wart of the right foot, finding that the evidence did not support such a higher rating.

The Board has determined that a rating in excess of 20 percent for the left foot disorder, and a rating in excess of 10 percent for the right foot disorder are not warranted. The veteran's bilateral foot disorders have been rated based on their severity since December 3, 1998.

The veteran's service-connected disabilities have been rated and are currently assigned the maximum schedular ratings. No further increased ratings are warranted.

The Board denied service connection for bilateral foot disability and gouty arthritis as the evidence did not support a finding of service origin.

The Board has denied the veteran's claim for an increased evaluation greater than 30 percent for his service-connected bilateral pes planus, finding that the current symptomatology does not meet or more closely approximate the criteria for a 50 percent evaluation.

The Board found that the veteran's bilateral pes planus was not incurred in or aggravated by his active duty military service and is not proximately due to or the result of a service-connected disability.

The veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for bilateral plantar fasciitis was denied due to his failure to report for a necessary VA examination.

The Board has determined that the veteran's right foot disability was incurred during military service and grants service connection for this condition.

The Board has determined that the veteran's preexisting pes planus did not worsen during service and that any current left foot disabilities are not related to his military service.

The veteran's service-connected right ankle disability is rated at 20 percent effective June 11, 2005. The other claims for service connection and initial ratings are granted.

The Board has reopened the veteran's claim of entitlement to service connection for a skin disability, finding that new and material evidence had been submitted. The case is now remanded for further development.