The Board denied service connection for a left foot disorder and an increased rating for DDD of the lumbar spine, finding that there was no evidence to support these claims.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's current diagnoses do not meet the criteria for service connection as his hallux valgus is not related to in-service injury or disease. For the lumbar spine disability, the Board found that the Veteran did not have actual limitation of motion and therefore could not receive a compensable rating under Diagnostic Code 5003.
- Claimed conditions
- left foot disorder, DDD of the lumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- March 25, 2019
- Citation
- 19121741
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,454 · Granted: 23% (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 19121741.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's service connection claims for lumbosacral strain, asthma, melasma and hydradenitis, hypertension, an acquired psychiatric disorder (claimed as depression, anxiety, and stress), left shoulder disorder, right shoulder disorder, left knee disorder, a left foot disorder, and IBS have been granted. The remaining issues are remanded.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has found new and relevant evidence to warrant readjudication of the claims for service connection for bilateral shoulder, hip, knee, ankle, foot, and back disorders. The underlying merits of these claims must be addressed by the AOJ.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to a duty to assist error in obtaining missing service treatment records. The AOJ is instructed to attempt to obtain these records and conduct any necessary development, including VA examinations.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for tinnitus, right foot disorder, and left foot disorder due to a lack of evidence showing that these conditions began during active service or were related to in-service injuries.
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