The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for perforation of the left eardrum and increased ratings for residuals of a gunshot wound to the left hand and bilateral pes planus. The veteran was not granted any new or material evidence to reopen his claim for service connection, and his current disabilities were found to be related to his military service.
The deciding factor: The Board determined that there was no competent medical evidence linking the current perforated eardrum to a service-connected condition or an incident of service. The veteran's gunshot wound to the left hand resulted in permanent disability but did not meet the criteria for higher ratings due to functional impairment and degenerative changes. Bilateral pes planus was rated at 10%.
- Claimed conditions
- perforation of the left eardrum, gunshot wound to the left hand, bilateral pes planus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- September 15, 2000
- Citation
- 0024677
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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0024677.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied the Appellant's requests for earlier effective dates for his service connection for bilateral pes planus and gynecomastia scar residuals, finding that the earliest possible effective dates are the dates of receipt of the claims.
- Denied
The Veteran's hypertension, bilateral pes planus, PTSD, and anxiety were all denied as service connection was not established based on the evidence of record.,Bilateral pes planus was denied due to lack of current diagnosis.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for treatment purposes only under Chapter 17 for various conditions, including cervical spine condition, right upper extremity nerve condition, left upper extremity nerve condition, headache condition, right wrist condition, left wrist condition, right elbow condition, left elbow condition, right shoulder condition, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), bilateral pes planus, right ankle disorder, left ankle disorder, and left knee disorder.
- Denied
The Veteran's bilateral pes planus is rated at 30 percent, which does not meet the criteria for a higher rating. The Board denied his claim for a higher rating as his pes planus did not result in pronounced flatfoot with marked pronation, extreme tenderness of plantar surfaces of the feet, or marked inward displacement and severe spasm of the Achilles' tendon on manipulation. For TDIU, the Veteran was granted from March 2, 2019, based on his service-connected disabilities rendering him unable to obtain and follow a substantially gainful occupation.
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