The Board has determined that the veteran's bilateral foot disability and hammertoes clearly existed prior to his military service, and were not aggravated by active duty. Therefore, service connection is denied.
The deciding factor: The pre-existing conditions of pes cavus with multiple hammertoes in both feet were present before the veteran's entry into military service and did not permanently increase in severity during service.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Foot Disability, Hammertoes
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 4, 2005
- Citation
- 0502857
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 0502857.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for sinusitis, TBI, obstructive sleep apnea, and bilateral foot disability as the evidence did not support a finding of current disabilities related to in-service events or exposures.
- Partly granted
The Board denied a rating in excess of 70 percent for PTSD and remanded claims for service connection for left shoulder, right shoulder, bilateral foot, left ankle, right ankle, and cervical spine disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for an initial compensable rating for erectile dysfunction and service connection for a bilateral foot disability, finding no evidence of increased severity or etiological relationship to military service.
- Dismissed
The appeal for restoration of a 60 percent rating for skin disabilities and the appeals for service connection for back disability, diabetes mellitus, type II, hypertension, increased evaluation for PTSD, and increased evaluation for dry eye syndrome were dismissed. The appeals for service connection for ED (secondary to PTSD), bilateral foot disability, and cervical spine (neck) disability were remanded.
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