The Board granted service connection for a left foot disability (other than callosities) and a right hip disability, as well as increased ratings for an acquired psychiatric disorder, bilateral foot disability prior to July 6, 2020, lumbar spine disability, right knee instability prior to October 2, 2019, and left knee instability. However, it denied increased ratings for the bilateral foot disability since July 26, 2020, right knee arthritis, left knee arthritis, and right knee instability since October 2, 2019.
The deciding factor: The Board granted service connection based on a positive nexus opinion from a VA examiner and found that the Veteran's symptoms more closely approximated the criteria for higher ratings. However, some claims were denied due to insufficient evidence of severity or impact on daily functioning.
- Claimed conditions
- Left foot disability (other than callosities), Right hip disability, Acquired psychiatric disorder, Bilateral foot disability (callosities secondary to bilateral ankle equinus and anterior cavus deformity with forefoot valgus and plantar flexion of the first metatarsals), Lumbar spine disability, Right knee arthritis, Left knee arthritis, Right knee instability, Left knee instability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 30, 2025
- Citation
- 25013482
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 3,217 · Granted: 46% (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 25013482.
What this means for you
A partial grant means some issues were granted while others were denied or remanded — common in multi-issue claims. Look at which issues went which way, and how each was argued.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a low back disability and an increased rating for his acquired psychiatric disorder. The Board found that there was no evidence linking the current disabilities to military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for a determination on whether injuries sustained in a November 2001 incident were in the line of duty. The claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder is also remanded due to its interdependence with the line of duty issue.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to a duty to assist error in failing to obtain private treatment records from the Veteran's treating clinician.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date of August 13, 2018, for the award of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder is granted. The Veteran also meets the schedular criteria for entitlement to TDIU prior to June 1, 2023.
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