The Veteran's degenerative joint disease of the toes is granted as secondary to his service-connected onychomycosis. The rating for his onychomycosis remains remanded due to a need for an addendum opinion regarding the use of Kenalog.
The deciding factor: The examiner concluded that the arthritis diagnosed in December 2015 was more likely caused by the altered gait resulting from the Veteran's service-connected onychomycosis, which led to antalgic gait and subsequent bilateral arthritis of the toes.
- Claimed conditions
- degenerative joint disease of the toes, onychomycosis of the toenails
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 30, 2019
- Citation
- 19133608
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,797 · Granted: 20% (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 19133608.
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.
- Granted
The Board granted an initial 30 percent disability rating for onychomycosis of the bilateral toes, as the condition results in painful discolored and thickened toenails affecting five or more toes.
- Granted
The Board granted a 10 percent rating for onychomycosis of the toenails from December 22, 2015, as the Veteran's symptoms were commensurate with this rating.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for onychomycosis of the toenails, finding that there is no evidence to support a nexus between his current condition and active service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied service connection for onychomycosis of the toenails due to lack of evidence showing a relationship between the condition and active service. The right ankle, right knee, and low back disability issues are remanded for further examination and opinion.
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