The Board remands the claims for service connection for left and right foot hallux rigidus as the January 2024 VA medical opinion is found to be inadequate.
The deciding factor: The January 2024 medical opinion did not adequately address the Veteran's reported in-service injury and symptoms, and there may be outstanding relevant treatment records that need to be obtained.
- Claimed conditions
- left foot hallux rigidus, right foot hallux rigidus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 10, 2025
- Citation
- A25033487
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 granted service connection for right foot hallux rigidus and left foot hallux rigidus with arthritis, finding that the Veteran's current conditions are directly related to his in-service wearing of combat boots.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for a left foot disorder to obtain additional medical opinions addressing whether any of the diagnosed foot disabilities were aggravated by service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remanded the veteran's claims for service connection of various foot conditions to obtain a new medical opinion.
- Partly granted
The veteran's claim for service connection for left foot hallux rigidus was dismissed due to untimely filing. The claims for GERD and psychiatric disorders were remanded for further evaluation.
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