The Board denied service connection for bilateral hallux valgus with bunions and residuals of right ankle sprain, finding that the preexisting conditions clearly and unmistakably did not worsen during service.
The deciding factor: The VA examinations found no clear and unmistakable aggravation of the Veteran's preexisting bilateral hallux valgus and right ankle disorders by his military service.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hallux valgus with bunions, residuals of right ankle sprain
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 29, 2019
- Citation
- 19181784
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,104 · Granted: 28% (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 19181784.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for TDIU and DEA benefits prior to December 7, 2020 is denied as there was no formal or informal claim received prior to that date. The effective dates for the TDIU and DEA benefits are both set at December 7, 2020.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the Veteran's claims for increased ratings and earlier effective dates are inextricably intertwined with his claims for remand. The claims have been REMANDED to allow for further development.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities required him to be in need of regular aid and attendance, leading to the grant of special monthly compensation (SMC) based on the need for aid and attendance (A&A) from February 7, 2018.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the aggravation of bilateral hallux valgus with bunions, but has remanded the issue of service connection for residuals of right ankle sprain.
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