The Veteran's bilateral hallux valgus is not severe enough to warrant a compensable rating.,The Veteran's left shoulder strain does not meet the criteria for a higher than 20 percent rating.,The Veteran's reactive airway disease (RAD) does not meet the criteria for a higher than 10 percent rating.,The Veteran's eczema, groin cyst, and tinea cruris do not meet the criteria for a higher than 10 percent rating.
The deciding factor: The Veteran’s bilateral hallux valgus does not equate to amputation of the great toe or have been operated on with resection of the metatarsal head.,The Veteran's left shoulder strain has manifested as no worse than flexion to 180 degrees, abduction to 160 degrees, external rotation to 90 degrees, and internal rotation to 70 degrees, with further limitation during a flare-up due to pain and weakness. No higher rating is warranted.,The Veteran's reactive airway disease (RAD) manifests in pre-bronchodilator pulmonary function testing results of no less than 78 percent of Forced Expiratory Volume in one second/Forced Vital Capacity (FEV-1/FVC). The Veteran does not use oral or parenteral medications, to include corticosteroids and bronchodilators. No higher rating is warranted.,The Veteran's eczema, groin cyst, and tinea cruris have manifested by coverage of 5 to 20 percent of his total skin requiring the use of topical medication to the affected areas but no worse.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hallux valgus, left shoulder strain, reactive airway disease (RAD), eczema, groin cyst, and tinea cruris
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 10, 2020
- Citation
- 20002530
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,669 · 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 20002530.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's hypertension, left shoulder strain, and right shoulder disability are all granted as service-connected.,The Veteran is also remanded for a rating in excess of 10 percent for degenerative arthritis of the spine and for service connection for sleep apnea.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient medical opinions and a need for additional examination.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the VA examinations are inadequate for rating purposes and thus remands the case to obtain a new examination. The issues include determining whether bilateral hallux valgus and/or acquired pes cavus are secondary to sesamoiditis, whether there is a neurological disability of the right great toe, and whether there was a period of convalescence following the July 2022 sesamoidectomy.
- Denied
The Veteran's initial 10% disability rating for left shoulder strain was upheld as there was no clear and unmistakable error in the September 2010 Rating Decision.
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