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Board of Veterans' Appeals · AMA series

Service connection for athlete's foot is denied.

July 30, 2026Citation Nr. A26069975Docket 210803-176637va.gov source

  • athlete's footDenied
  • acquired psychiatric disorder (PTSD and MDD)Granted
  • dental and oral condition secondary to PTSD (jaw clenching, bruxism)Granted
  • right shoulder disabilityRemanded
  • lumbar spine disability (degenerative arthritis)Remanded
  • sleep apneaRemanded
  • TDIURemanded

Board reasoning

The Board granted PTSD and the dental/oral condition as secondary to PTSD, and denied athlete's foot. Other claims were remanded for further development due to pre-decisional duty-to-assist errors and need for additional medical opinions, including the right shoulder, lumbar spine, and sleep apnea, as well as TDIU. In recharacterizing the psychiatric issue to include MDD, the Board evaluated corroborated in-service stressors for PTSD and found a causal link to current PTSD based on the February 2020 VA examination, while noting the need to address outstanding private records and evaluate secondary effects on dental health and overall employability.

Issues

  • athlete's footDenied
  • acquired psychiatric disorder (PTSD and MDD)Granted
  • dental and oral condition secondary to PTSD (jaw clenching, bruxism)Granted
  • right shoulder disabilityRemanded
  • lumbar spine disability (degenerative arthritis)Remanded
  • sleep apneaRemanded
  • TDIURemanded

Authorities

  • Clemons v. Shinseki, 23 Vet. App. 1Board recharacterized the claim as an acquired psychiatric disability including PTSD and MDD
  • Saunders v. Wilkie, 886 F.3d 1356Board referenced pain as functional impairment in assessing disability
  • Dalton v. Nicholson, 21 Vet. App. 23absence of treatment not sole basis to deny a claim; supports remand for nexus
  • McLendon v. Nicholson, 20 Vet. App. 79McLendon framework for needing medical examination

Extracted with gpt-5-nano-2025-08-07. Citations are kept only when they appear in the decision text.