The veteran is seeking an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for bilateral heel disability, which was previously denied in 1976. The Board found that the claim was not timely appealed and thus the original decision remains final.
The deciding factor: The veteran's appeal to reopen his claim based on new evidence did not meet the criteria established by VA regulations.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral heel disability
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- October 12, 2001
- Citation
- 0124584
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 0124584.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a current diagnosis of a bilateral heel disability and therefore, service connection for this condition is denied.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the appeals for service connection of diabetes mellitus, heart disability, bilateral heel disability, and hypertension as they are not eligible to be adjudicated due to the appellant's death.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for further development and consideration of issues related to service connection for bilateral heel disabilities, timely substantive appeal regarding severance of service connection for degenerative joint disease of the left knee, rating in excess of 10 percent for degenerative joint disease of left knee from 2009 to 2017, and entitlement to TDIU.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for a bilateral heel disability as secondary to his service-connected cervical spine disability. The evidence is approximately balanced as to whether the Veteran's current bilateral heel disability was caused by his May 2014 surgery on his service-connected cervical spine disability and recovery.
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