Citation Nr: 21064453 Decision Date: 10/20/21 Archive Date: 10/20/21 DOCKET NO. 18-28 182A DATE: October 20, 2021 ORDER An initial 30 percent rating for left foot corns and recurrent calluses is granted. An initial 30 percent rating for right foot corns and recurrent calluses is granted. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran's bilateral foot corns and calluses result in severe symptoms. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. The criteria for an initial rating 30 percent for left foot corns and recurrent calluses have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1155, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 4.1, 4.3, 4.7, 4.40, 4.45, 4.59, 4.71a, Diagnostic Code 5284. 2. The criteria for an initial rating 30 percent for right foot corns and recurrent calluses have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1155, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 4.1, 4.3, 4.7, 4.40, 4.45, 4.59, 4.71a, Diagnostic Code 5284. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSIONS The Veteran had active service in the U.S. Air Force from November 1964 to May 1988 and was awarded the Bronze Star Medal. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a November 2016 rating decision. The Board previously adjudicated this appeal in February 2019. The Veteran appealed that decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court). Pursuant to a January 2020 Joint Motion for Remand, the Court remanded the matter back to the Board. The Board then remanded the matter for additional development in July 2020. Increased Ratings The Veteran is service-connected for bilateral corns and recurrent calluses. Each foot is rated at 20 percent under 38 C.F.R. § 4.71a, Diagnostic Code 5284, for other foot injuries. Under Diagnostic Code 5284, a 20 percent rating is warranted for moderately severe other foot injuries. A 30 percent rating is warranted for severe other foot injuries. A Note to Diagnostic Code 5284 instructs that, with actual loss of use of the foot, rate as a maximum 40 percent. According to MERRIAM WEBSTER, "moderate" means "tending toward the mean or average amount or dimension". See www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/moderate. "Severe" means "of a great degree". See www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/severe. The Board finds that a 30 percent rating is warranted for each foot. VA treatment records from December 2015 show that the Veteran's symptoms had worsened and were refractory to the conservative treatments he had been prescribed. In September 2016, he described how the toe dividers he used slowed his callus growth but did not prevent it. As the callus grew, his pain increased, and his activity decreased. Pain limited his ability to walk any distance or do any yard work. Additional records from August 2018 continued to document chronic severe foot pain and painful calluses. A July 2021 VA examination noted that the Veteran's condition resulted in pain with weight-bearing, disturbance of locomotion, and interference with standing. The Veteran also submitted photos of his corns and calluses in September 2016 and February 2017. These photos illustrate the corn lesions and calluses on his feet, which the Board finds persuasive in establishing a "severe" level of symptomatology, particularly because the Veteran's condition did not respond to conservative treatments. VA examiners from October 2016 and July 2021 assessed the Veteran's condition as no worse than "moderate." However, based on the evidence above, the Board finds that the overall weight of the evidence supports a finding of severe symptoms warranting 30 percent ratings. The Board finds that the preponderance of the evidence is against a rating higher than 30 percent. The Board acknowledges the Veteran's lay reports of symptoms and that there was functional loss due to his bilateral foot corns and calluses. However, considering the Veteran's lay reports of symptoms and functional loss, his disabilities would not result in symptoms more nearly approximating actual loss of use of the foot. The degree of additional limitation reflected by the statements that his disability progressed from mild to moderate to severe depending on the state of his calluses indicates that, in many instances, his pain and associated limitations do not approximate loss of use of either foot. JOHN Z. JONES Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board Shamil Patel, Counsel The Board's decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.