The Board denied entitlement to a compensable rating for the Veteran's left and right foot disabilities, finding that her bunions do not meet the required functional loss criteria.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's hallux valgus (bunion) with osteoarthritis of the first metatarsophageal joint did not meet the schedular criteria for a compensable rating under Diagnostic Code 5280, as her bunions do not rise to the level of functional loss equivalent to amputation of the great toe.
- Claimed conditions
- hallux valgus (bunion), osteoarthritis of the first metatarsophageal joint
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 25, 2024
- Citation
- 24003840
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 868 · Granted: 42% (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 24003840.
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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 claim for service connection for flat feet, hammer toes, plantar fasciitis, arthritis, and hallux valgus, finding that there was no evidence of a pre-existing condition aggravated by military service. The Board also found that the current disabilities were not related to service.
- Granted
The Veteran's left and right foot disabilities have been granted a rating of 20 percent, but no higher, with the effective dates varying based on when the disability was found to meet the criteria for such ratings.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's hallux valgus of the left foot is caused by or aggravated by his service-connected right foot condition, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim of service connection for a bilateral or unilateral foot disorder, finding that there was no evidence to support an in-service injury or disease and that any pre-existing conditions were not aggravated by service.
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