The Veteran's right foot metatarsalgia with degenerative arthritis is granted a 20% disability rating, effective November 19, 2014. The Board has also remanded the issues of service connection for back and left sciatic nerve radiculopathy.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found that the Veteran's right foot metatarsalgia with degenerative arthritis more nearly approximated moderately severe disability throughout the appeal period, warranting a 20% rating under Diagnostic Code 5284. The back and left sciatic nerve radiculopathy issues are being remanded for further development.
- Claimed conditions
- Right foot metatarsalgia with degenerative arthritis, Degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine, Scoliosis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 22, 2019
- Citation
- 19104853
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,429 · Granted: 29% (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 19104853.
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 Veteran's claim for an increased rating of his low back disability is being remanded due to the reduction in evaluation from 40 percent to 20 percent effective May 31, 2014. The RO needs to provide updated VA treatment records and schedule a VA examination to determine the current severity of the disability.
- Denied
The Board denied extraschedular ratings for the Veteran's service-connected lumbar spine and lower extremity radiculopathy disabilities, as well as a total disability rating based on individual unemployability prior to February 3, 2011.
- Denied
The Veteran's cervical strain with spinal fusion is rated at 20 percent, and the Board denied an increased rating.,The Veteran's degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine is rated at 20 percent, and the Board denied an increased rating.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the Veteran's claims for service connection for neck and back disabilities should be remanded due to insufficient evidence regarding the etiology of his conditions.
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