Citation Nr: 18142621 Decision Date: 10/16/18 Archive Date: 10/16/18 DOCKET NO. 15-33 121 DATE: October 16, 2018 REMANDED Entitlement to a compensable rating for left foot hallux valgus is remanded. Entitlement to a compensable rating for right foot hallux valgus prior to September 14, 2012, and as of January 1, 2013, is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from December 1996 to March 2008. These matters come before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a September 2012 rating decision issued by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). In March 2017, the Veteran testified before the undersigned at a Board hearing in Washington, D.C. A transcript of that hearing has been associated with the virtual file and reviewed. VA received the Veteran’s claims for increased ratings for the bilateral feet in February 2012. A September 2012 rating decision continued the noncompensable ratings for both feet. A July 2015 rating decision assigned a temporary 100 percent rating for the right foot under 38 C.F.R. § 4.30 based on the need for convalescence as of September 14, 2012, and assigned a noncompensable rating as of January 1, 2013. 1. Entitlement to a compensable rating for left foot hallux valgus is remanded. 2. Entitlement to a compensable rating for right foot hallux valgus prior to September 14, 2012, and as of January 1, 2013, is remanded. The claims file does not contain any VA treatment records since 2012. The record indicates that the Veteran has received VA treatment for his feet since then. Therefore, up-to-date VA treatment records should be associated with the virtual file; accordingly, the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ) should obtain all outstanding VA treatment records. Additionally, in March 2017, the Veteran testified that symptoms of his service-connected bilateral foot disabilities have increased in severity since the most recent VA examination in December 2013. Accordingly, a new VA examination should be provided to determine the current severity of the bilateral foot disabilities. See Snuffer v. Gober, 10 Vet. App. 400 (1997). In addition to hallux valgus, treatment records also indicate the presence of pes planus. Accordingly, the examiner should address whether the symptoms reported by the Veteran such as pain, instability, disturbance of locomotion, and interference with standing are attributable to service-connected bilateral hallux valgus. The matters are REMANDED for the following actions: 1. Obtain the Veteran’s VA treatment records for the period from September 2012 to the present. 2. After completing directive #1, schedule the Veteran for an examination by an appropriate clinician to determine the current severity of his service-connected bilateral hallux valgus. The examiner should review the virtual file, including a copy of this Remand. The examiner should address the following: (a.) Identify all bilateral foot disorders that are currently present. If the examiner disagrees with a diagnosis already established in the medical records, he/she should so state and explain why. (b.) The examiner should provide a full description of the disabilities and report all signs and symptoms necessary for evaluating the Veteran’s disabilities under the rating criteria. To the extent possible, the examiner should identify any symptoms and functional impairments due to the bilateral foot disabilities alone and discuss the effect of the Veteran’s bilateral foot disabilities on any occupational functioning and activities of daily living. The examiner must attempt to elicit information regarding the severity, frequency, and duration of any flare-ups, and the degree of functional loss during flare-ups and after repetitive use over time. (c.) State whether the reported symptoms of pain, instability, disturbance of locomotion, and interference with standing are attributable to service-connected bilateral hallux valgus. If the examiner finds that any reported symptoms are not attributable to hallux valgus, he or she should so state, and explain why. If it is not possible to provide a specific measurement, or an opinion regarding flare-ups, symptoms, or functional impairment without speculation, the examiner must state whether the need to speculate is due to a deficiency in the state of general medical knowledge (no one could respond given medical science and the known facts), a deficiency in the record (additional facts are required), or the examiner (does not have the knowledge or training). (d.) If the foot symptoms reported by the Veteran are attributable to another, non-service-connected foot disorder, is it at least as likely as not (50 percent or greater probability) that the non-service-connected disorder was caused by service-connected hallux valgus? (e.) If the answer to (d) is no, is it at least as likely as not (50 percent or greater probability) that the non-service-connected disorder has been aggravated (i.e., worsened beyond the normal progression of that disease) by service-connected hallux valgus? (Continued on the next page)   If aggravation is found, please state, to the extent possible, the baseline level of disability prior to aggravation. Eric S. Leboff Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD J.A. Gelber, Associate Counsel