The appeal is remanded for further development, including a new VA examination to clarify the nature and etiology of any bilateral foot disorder found.
The deciding factor: The discrepancy between the VA examiner's normal findings and the X-ray results required clarification, which was not provided in the previous examinations.
- Claimed conditions
- claw toe, hammer toe deformities
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 27, 2009
- Citation
- 0907487
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 832 · Granted: 18% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 0907487.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for bilateral toe disability and left foot scarring due to new evidence received since the last Supplemental Statement of the Case (SSOC). The AOJ must ensure all relevant records are obtained, including VA and private treatment records. The claims will be readjudicated based on this additional evidence.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral pes planus, which pre-existed his entry into service and was noted at the time of his enlistment examination, was aggravated during his period of active duty service. The issue of entitlement to service connection for foot disorder, other than bilateral pes planus, is remanded. The issue of entitlement to service connection for an eye disability, to include a disability manifested by defective vision, is also remanded.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for service connection for arthritis of the feet, bilateral hallux valgus, hammer toe deformities, and atherosclerotic disease in distal arteries was denied. The Board found that there is no evidence to support a finding that these conditions began during or are otherwise related to service. The Veteran's claim for TDIU was also denied as he does not have any service-connected disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for a new VA examination to determine the current severity of his service-connected hallux valgus and left foot scarring. The Veteran is seeking higher ratings for these conditions, which are currently rated as 30 percent and noncompensable respectively.
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