Citation Nr: 18155475
Decision Date: 12/04/18	Archive Date: 12/04/18

DOCKET NO. 16-62 299
DATE:	December 4, 2018
REMANDED
Entitlement to service connection for hammertoes and claw foot, to include as secondary to service-connected type II diabetes mellitus and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral lower extremities, is remanded.
REASONS FOR REMAND
The Veteran had active service from August 1964 to November 1967.
This case comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal of a March 2015 rating decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in St. Louis, Missouri.
In conjunction with this appeal, the Veteran was afforded a VA examination in August 2016.  The examiner found it less likely as not that the Veteran’s claimed foot disorder was proximately due to or the result of his “service connected condition,” while at the same time the Veteran’s “weight has contributed to this.”  This opinion, in addition to being poorly articulated, fails to address whether the Veteran’s claimed foot disorder has been aggravated by his service-connected type II diabetes mellitus and peripheral neuropathy of the lower extremities.  This matter must be clarified in a further VA examination and opinion.  
The matter is accordingly REMANDED for the following action:
Schedule the Veteran for a VA foot examination, conducted by an appropriate clinician who has reviewed the claims file, to determine the nature and etiology of his claimed hammertoes and claw foot.  The examiner should clearly state which, if any, disorders have been present during the pendency of this appeal (i.e., since October 2014).  Due consideration must be provided to the Veteran’s lay contentions.  If any foot disorders are diagnosed, the examiner must opine whether such disorders are at least as likely as not (50 percent probability or greater) etiologically related to service, or alternatively either caused or aggravated by the service-connected type II diabetes mellitus and peripheral neuropathy.  All opinions must be supported by a detailed rationale.
  
A. C. MACKENZIE
Veterans Law Judge
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	B. Banks, Associate Counsel