The Board has remanded the issues of entitlement to higher ratings for hammertoes right foot disability and hammertoes left foot disability with claw foot, as well as entitlement to a TDIU prior to November 14, 2012. Additional development is needed to assess the severity of these disabilities from January 24, 2007 to the relevant dates.
The deciding factor: The Board requires an additional VA medical opinion regarding the clinical severity of the Veteran's service-connected hammertoes right foot disability and left foot disability with claw foot prior to specific dates.
- Claimed conditions
- hammertoes right foot, claw foot left foot
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 8, 2021
- Citation
- 21007160
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 21007160.
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.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including a right wrist disability and bilateral hammertoes, have prevented him from obtaining and maintaining substantially gainful employment since at least 2009. The Board has granted TDIU effective July 7, 2014, but the issue of TDIU prior to that date is remanded for further development.
- 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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