The Veteran's bilateral foot disorder, including pes planus, hammer toes, metatarsalgia, and hallux valgus, is related to his military service. The Board finds that the presumption of aggravation applies to his pes planus during service, but does not find clear and unmistakable evidence showing no aggravation. The Veteran's bilateral hip disorder, erectile dysfunction, and migraine headaches are all found to be related to his military service. Neuropathy is denied as there is no diagnosis.
The deciding factor: The Board finds that the presumption of aggravation applies to the Veteran’s pes planus during service, but does not find clear and unmistakable evidence showing no aggravation.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral pes planus, hammer toes, metatarsalgia, hallux valgus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 30%
- Decision date
- March 21, 2019
- Citation
- 19120993
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,316 · Granted: 43% (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 19120993.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied the Appellant's requests for earlier effective dates for his service connection for bilateral pes planus and gynecomastia scar residuals, finding that the earliest possible effective dates are the dates of receipt of the claims.
- Denied
The Veteran's hypertension, bilateral pes planus, PTSD, and anxiety were all denied as service connection was not established based on the evidence of record.,Bilateral pes planus was denied due to lack of current diagnosis.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for treatment purposes only under Chapter 17 for various conditions, including cervical spine condition, right upper extremity nerve condition, left upper extremity nerve condition, headache condition, right wrist condition, left wrist condition, right elbow condition, left elbow condition, right shoulder condition, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), bilateral pes planus, right ankle disorder, left ankle disorder, and left knee disorder.
- Denied
The Veteran's bilateral pes planus is rated at 30 percent, which does not meet the criteria for a higher rating. The Board denied his claim for a higher rating as his pes planus did not result in pronounced flatfoot with marked pronation, extreme tenderness of plantar surfaces of the feet, or marked inward displacement and severe spasm of the Achilles' tendon on manipulation. For TDIU, the Veteran was granted from March 2, 2019, based on his service-connected disabilities rendering him unable to obtain and follow a substantially gainful occupation.
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