The Board granted service connection for a bilateral foot disability, to include pes planus, hallux valgus, hallux rigidus, calcaneal spurs, and left-foot arthritis, as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected left knee disability.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found it at least as likely as not that the Veteran's right and left foot disabilities were proximately due to or the result of the Veteran's service-connected left knee disability.
- Claimed conditions
- pes planus, hallux valgus, hallux rigidus, calcaneal spurs, left-foot arthritis
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 3, 2025
- Citation
- A25048847
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the appeal to obtain a VA medical opinion that considers the Veteran's contentions of in-service training with heavy gear and equipment.
- Partly granted
The Board denied increased ratings for the Veteran's back, right ring finger, and left foot hallux valgus disabilities but granted an initial 30 percent rating for pes planus from August 17, 2021, a 50 percent rating for pes planus from December 15, 2023, and a separate 10 percent rating for bilateral plantar fasciitis from August 17, 2021.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a left foot disability to correct a pre-decisional duty to assist error, specifically regarding an inadequate October 2024 VA examination.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for pes planus, bilateral degenerative changes of the feet, bilateral hammertoe deformity, bilateral foot ulcers, and onychomycosis as there was no evidence to support an increase in severity during active service.
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