{"page":"https://casescribe.ai/explorer/secondary/foot-impairment-secondary-to-knee","generated_at":"2026-10-03T18:34:27.806Z","data_as_of":{"decisions":944125,"first_year":2017,"last_year":2026,"latest_decision":"2026-04-30","cfr":"2026-10-01","m21":"2026-09-29"},"about":{"publisher":"CaseScribe AI (VA Law Explorer)","source":"Public Board of Veterans' Appeals decisions (appeals of VA decisions, not VA's first decisions), M21-1 Adjudication Procedures Manual, 38 CFR Parts 3 and 4.","method":"Outcomes are issue-level: each condition the Board decided in a decision counts once. Decision data is extracted by AI and can contain errors. Rates describe past appeals and do not predict any claim.","disclaimer":"For research only. CaseScribe AI is not a law firm and this is not legal advice. Verify figures against the source decisions and regulations.","attribution":"Cite as: VA Law Explorer, CaseScribe AI, with the page URL."},"data":{"claim":"Foot impairment secondary to a knee condition","secondary_condition":"Foot impairment","service_connected_disability":"a knee condition","decisions":447,"years":"2017-2026","granted_pct":8.3,"denied_pct":15.9,"remanded_pct":74.3,"granted_on_merits_pct":34.3,"by_year":[{"year":2017,"issues":28,"granted_pct":10.7,"denied_pct":35.7,"remanded_pct":42.9},{"year":2018,"issues":67,"granted_pct":4.5,"denied_pct":26.9,"remanded_pct":65.7},{"year":2019,"issues":59,"granted_pct":10.2,"denied_pct":10.2,"remanded_pct":74.6},{"year":2020,"issues":72,"granted_pct":5.6,"denied_pct":13.9,"remanded_pct":80.6},{"year":2021,"issues":62,"granted_pct":6.5,"denied_pct":14.5,"remanded_pct":75.8},{"year":2022,"issues":62,"granted_pct":3.2,"denied_pct":12.9,"remanded_pct":83.9},{"year":2023,"issues":64,"granted_pct":10.9,"denied_pct":6.3,"remanded_pct":82.8},{"year":2024,"issues":60,"granted_pct":10,"denied_pct":5,"remanded_pct":85},{"year":2025,"issues":54,"granted_pct":18.5,"denied_pct":20.4,"remanded_pct":61.1},{"year":2026,"issues":25,"granted_pct":12,"denied_pct":28,"remanded_pct":60}],"benefit_of_doubt_in_grants_pct":70.3,"evidence_on_merits":[{"evidence":"va_exam_unfavorable","decisions_with":351,"granted_pct_with":33.7,"granted_pct_without":36.8},{"evidence":"nexus_positive","decisions_with":66,"granted_pct_with":68.8,"granted_pct_without":19.7},{"evidence":"nexus_negative","decisions_with":280,"granted_pct_with":31.1,"granted_pct_without":41.2},{"evidence":"private_opinion","decisions_with":130,"granted_pct_with":47.7,"granted_pct_without":25},{"evidence":"lay_statement","decisions_with":359,"granted_pct_with":30.9,"granted_pct_without":57.1}],"top_reasons":{"granted":[{"reason":"caused by the service-connected disability","decisions":8},{"reason":"service connection established","decisions":5},{"reason":"current diagnosis established","decisions":4},{"reason":"criteria for service connection met","decisions":2}],"denied":[{"reason":"va examiner: less likely than not related to service","decisions":10},{"reason":"no current diagnosis","decisions":10},{"reason":"aggravated by the service-connected disability","decisions":8},{"reason":"preponderance of the evidence against the claim","decisions":7},{"reason":"service records negative or silent","decisions":4},{"reason":"caused by the service-connected disability","decisions":4}]},"recent_examples":{"granted":[{"case_id":"A26033063","year":2026,"judge":"MICHAEL J. SKALTSOUNIS","rationale":"Current disability documented; Service-connected left knee disability established; Private medical opinion found favorable nexus"},{"case_id":"A26008110","year":2026,"judge":"MATTHEW W. BLACKWELDER","rationale":"Private medical opinion found adequate and probative; VA opinion found inadequate due to internal inconsistency and failure to address functional impairment and aggravation; Veteran's lay statements regarding functional impairment were found credible"},{"case_id":"A25109042","year":2025,"judge":"MICHAEL J. SKALTSOUNIS","rationale":"Bilateral ankle pain constitutes current disability due to functional impairment; Secondary to service-connected bilateral knee disability; Benefit of the doubt applied"}],"denied":[{"case_id":"A26038793","year":2026,"judge":"KRISTIN HADDOCK","rationale":"Did not manifest during active service; No indication of relation to active service or service-connected disability; 38 U.S.C. §§ 1131, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.310"},{"case_id":"26003681","year":2026,"judge":"B. MULLINS","rationale":"Veteran failed to attend ordered VA examinations; No current diagnosis of foot disability found; Evidence weighs against finding of disability"},{"case_id":"A26024150","year":2026,"judge":"B. D. WATSON","rationale":"Conceded current right foot condition.; No evidence of in-service injury to the right foot.; No continuity of symptomatology; pain began 40 years post-service.; Second element of service connection not met."}]},"how_argued":{"note":"From keyword matches in each issue's AI summary and rationale, not the full decision. Only issues whose text names a medical link are counted under pathways; one issue can name several. A link named in a denial was often the argument the Board rejected.","issues":553,"aggravation_discussed":{"issues":248,"granted_pct":5.2},"causation_only":{"issues":305,"granted_pct":11.5},"issues_naming_a_pathway_pct":26.9,"pathways":[{"pathway":"Altered gait or overuse","issues":114,"granted_pct":13.2,"examples":[{"case_id":"A26008110","year":2026,"outcome":"GRANTED","quote":"The Board found the Veteran's lay statements regarding functional impairment credible and relied on a private medical opinion that linked the foot pain to altered biomechanics and increased forces on the foot from the service-connected..."},{"case_id":"A26024639","year":2026,"outcome":"DENIED","quote":"VA treatment in 2019 noted foot pain and other diagnoses, but no provider linked these to service, and the veteran's gait was noted as normal."}]},{"pathway":"Weight gain or obesity","issues":22,"granted_pct":9.1,"examples":[{"case_id":"A25069927","year":2025,"outcome":"GRANTED","quote":"Private medical opinion found likely connection via weight gain and overcompensation"},{"case_id":"20034577","year":2020,"outcome":"DENIED","quote":"July 2006 VA exam diagnosed bilateral osteoarthritis of feet, found no etiological connection to right knee condition beyond age and obesity."}]},{"pathway":"Nerve involvement","issues":17,"granted_pct":0,"examples":[{"case_id":"22056446","year":2022,"outcome":"DENIED","quote":"VA examinations did not support a diagnosis of a right foot disability or peripheral nerve condition."}]},{"pathway":"Chronic pain","issues":11,"granted_pct":9.1,"examples":[{"case_id":"A24048504","year":2024,"outcome":"GRANTED","quote":"The Board found that the Veteran's left foot disability became severe, as indicated by symptoms including daily pain that worsens with walking and standing, difficulty walking, and two to three episodes per month of inability to stand..."},{"case_id":"A25005724","year":2025,"outcome":"DENIED","quote":"Insufficient evidence of functional impairment in earning capacity due to left foot pain."}]}]},"how_va_rates":null,"requirements":"38 CFR 3.310: a current diagnosis, a service-connected disability, and medical evidence that it caused (3.310(a)) or aggravated (3.310(b)) the condition."}}