The Board denied service connection for arthritis of the left and right big toes, finding that there was no evidence of chronic in-service disability or continuity of symptomatology.,The Board also denied service connection for COPD, concluding that it did not begin during service or is otherwise related to an in-service injury.
The deciding factor: There was no evidence of arthritis of the big toes being present in service and no credible continuity of symptoms post-service. The VA examiner opined that the Veteran's current arthritis was less likely caused by his military boots.,The Board found that COPD did not begin during service or is otherwise related to an in-service injury, with the opinion stating that it was more likely due to the Veteran's long history of smoking.
- Claimed conditions
- arthritis of the left big toe, arthritis of the right big toe, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 9, 2020
- Citation
- 20065843
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,456 · 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 20065843.
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