The Board has determined that the Veteran's current left foot disorders, including arthritis, hammer toes, myopathy, and foot drop, are not related to his service or any herbicide exposure during service. The evidence does not support a finding of direct service connection.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner concluded that the current left foot disorders are due to muscle weakness (myopathy) rather than nerve damage (neuropathy), and there is no credible evidence linking myopathy to herbicide exposure in service.
- Claimed conditions
- left forefoot sprain, arthritis, hammer toes, myopathy, foot drop
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 6, 2020
- Citation
- 20010057
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 20010057.
What this means for you
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for tinnitus, arthritis, and memory loss. The decision found no evidence linking these conditions to his military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death and entitlement to DIC due to a failure to obtain a medical opinion prior to the rating decision on appeal regarding whether the Veteran's arthritis was related to his period of active service, and if so, whether it contributed to his death.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's hypertension was granted service connection, but his myopathy claim for secondary service connection to hypertension was also granted. The decision is mixed as it grants one issue and denies the other.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded due to the need for additional examinations and opinions regarding his diagnosed conditions, including mental health disorders, gastrointestinal issues, respiratory problems, arthritis, neuropathy, sleep apnea, erectile dysfunction, and headaches. The examination will also address whether any of these conditions were caused or aggravated by his service-connected diabetes mellitus.
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