The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to insufficient VA examination findings and opinions regarding his right foot disability, as well as the need for a new VA opinion on whether any left knee disorder is related to service or secondary to his right great toe condition.
The deciding factor: The VA examinations were inadequate in assessing the severity of the Veteran's right foot conditions and did not address the April 2014 x-ray findings. Additionally, there was insufficient evidence regarding a potential link between any left knee disorder and the Veteran's service-connected right great toe disability.
- Claimed conditions
- hallux limitus status-post cheilectomy of the right great toe, degenerative joint disease at the first metatarsophalangeal joint
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- March 4, 2021
- Citation
- 21012351
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 21012351.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected right foot disability is rated at 30 percent, which is the maximum schedular rating available for a unilateral foot disability without actual loss of use. The Board denied an increased rating higher than 30 percent.
- 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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