The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for anxiety/depression secondary to his service-connected right foot disabilities, as well as his increased ratings and compensation claims. The case is being remanded due to a recent visit with his VA orthopedic surgeon.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence does not support a finding that the veteran's service-connected right foot disabilities caused or aggravated any existing anxiety/depression or contributed to an increase in disability of pre-existing conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- anxiety/depression, right foot hammertoes, neurectomy of the right intermediate dorsal cutaneous nerve, amputation of the fourth digit of the right foot at the distal interphalangeal joint without metatarsal involvement
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 11, 2004
- Citation
- 0422034
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 0422034.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has found that there may be relevant outstanding treatment records to obtain and associate with the claim file, particularly given the Veteran's citation to 'MEDICAL' in his request for service records. The claims are being remanded to address this duty to assist error.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to a lack of VA examinations and medical opinions, as well as potential legal errors in previous decisions. The Veteran will have an opportunity to request another hearing or present additional evidence.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the veteran's appeals for service connection for various conditions, including foot and calf pain, hammertoes, hallux valgus, and cervical spine degenerative arthritis.
- Denied
The Board denied higher ratings for the Veteran's right and left foot hallux valgus and right and left foot hammertoes, as the maximum 10 percent ratings were already assigned.
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