The Veteran's initial rating for recurrent right foot strain was denied, and the claim of a higher rating prior to November 15, 2018 and from that date for thoracic and lumbar degenerative disc disease with anterolisthesis L5-S1 is remanded.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's primary problem affecting his right foot has been subjective complaints of pain without weakness, stiffness, heat or redness, resulting in disability more closely approximating no more overall moderate foot disability.
- Claimed conditions
- Recurrent right foot strain, Degenerative arthritis (right foot)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- December 28, 2020
- Citation
- 20081140
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,196 · Granted: 17% (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 20081140.
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.
- Granted
The Board found that the reduction of the rating for the Veteran's right foot hammer toes from 10% to 0% was proper due to a clear and unmistakable error in assigning a separate compensable rating for painful motion under Code 5282, which violated the prohibition against pyramiding. The Veteran does not have hammer toes affecting all of her toes.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected musculoligamentous strain, right knee, is currently rated at 10 percent and the Board finds that a higher rating is not warranted.
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