The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient opinions regarding the Veteran's service connection claims for bilateral hammertoes and right foot bunion. The examiner must provide a new opinion addressing whether these conditions are related to service, considering the Veteran's history of bunions.
The deciding factor: The previous VA examiners did not adequately address the applicability of medical principles in the context of the Veteran's history of bunions and ill-fitting footwear.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hammertoes, hallux valgus deformity (left foot), right foot bunion (hallux valgus deformity)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 19, 2019
- Citation
- 19194932
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,863 · Granted: 26% (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 19194932.
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 Board has determined that a remand is necessary due to multiple pre-decisional duty to assist errors, including inadequate VA examinations and Gulf War examination.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for bilateral hammertoes and chronic mycotic infections of the bilateral feet, as there was no evidence to support a nexus between these conditions and the Veteran's military service.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for a bilateral foot disorder, including bilateral pes planus, Hepatitis C keratoma, and bilateral hammertoes.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for sleep apnea, eye disorder, bilateral hammertoes, and muscle and joint disorders to ensure compliance with prior remand orders.
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