The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for heel spurs, plantar fasciitis, and arthritis of the feet (other than residuals of a fracture of the navicular bone of the right foot with traumatic arthritis), claimed as residuals of frostbite. The Board found that these conditions are not shown to be residuals of frostbite.
The deciding factor: The veteran's current complaints do not align with his reported inservice exposure to cold and forced labor, which is considered consistent with the occurrence of frostbite. The examiner did not believe that the degenerative changes at the first metatarsal phalangeal joint or navicular joint were caused by frostbite.
- Claimed conditions
- heel spurs, plantar fasciitis, arthritis of the feet (other than residuals of a fracture of the navicular bone of the right foot with traumatic arthritis)
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Gulf War
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 7, 2000
- Citation
- 0006045
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 0006045.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the appeal to obtain a VA medical opinion that considers the Veteran's contentions of in-service training with heavy gear and equipment.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a medical opinion on whether plantar fasciitis was aggravated by active duty training.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for migraine headaches as secondary to the Veteran's asthma with sinusitis, but denied service connection for a low back sprain and plantar fasciitis. The claim for a neck condition was dismissed.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for multiple conditions, including left and right leg, arm, knee, shoulder, kidney, plantar fasciitis, and back conditions, as further development is needed to address pre-decisional duty to assist errors.
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