The Board granted service connection for bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome, degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, left foot hammer toe, iliotibial band syndrome, right knee, migraines, and benign neoplasm of the thyroid. Service connection was denied for arthritis of the bilateral hips.
The deciding factor: The evidence is at least in equipoise that the left foot hammer toe was caused by the Veteran's service, and the condition onset during a period of Guard/Reserve Active Service (GRAS).
- Claimed conditions
- arthritis of the bilateral hips, bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome, degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, left foot hammer toe, iliotibial band syndrome, right knee, migraines, including migraine variants, right shoulder subacromial impingement syndrome with TTP at long head of biceps and supraspinatus, benign neoplasm of the thyroid
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 22, 2025
- Citation
- A25091574
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 945 · Granted: 43% (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 A25091574.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that additional development is needed for the claims on appeal, including obtaining any outstanding treatment records and scheduling VA examinations to assess the current severity of service-connected disabilities. The Veteran's representative also requested reevaluation of his service-connected disabilities.
- Granted
The Veteran's hypertension, left knee patellofemoral syndrome, and right knee patellofemoral syndrome have been granted service connection as secondary to his service-connected disabilities. The lumbar spine disability has also been granted but the effective date is not specified.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection of bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome, finding that there was no evidence of an in-service injury or disease and that symptoms began many years after separation from service.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew all appeals regarding his service-connected conditions and related disability ratings, effective as of March 16, 2026.
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