The Board found that the veteran's flat feet were not incurred in or aggravated by active service and denied his claim. The Board also found that hypertension and congestive heart failure were not incurred in or aggravated by active service and may not be presumed to have been incurred in service.
The deciding factor: There is no medical evidence linking the veteran's current foot disorder to service, nor does there appear to be any link between his cardiovascular disability and service. The veteran did not seek treatment for a foot condition until 46 years after discharge, and made no reference to his military service at that time.
- Claimed conditions
- flat feet, hypertension and congestive heart failure
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 12, 2006
- Citation
- 0600948
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.
- Dismissed
The appeal for service connection for flat feet and leg pain as secondary to flat feet was dismissed due to an impermissible concurrent election of administrative review options. The initial rating in excess of 10 percent for GERD with hiatal hernia and Barrett's esophagus was denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for flat feet, irritable bowel syndrome, duodenal gastritis, and fecal incontinence to correct pre-decisional duty to assist errors.
- Dismissed
The appeal was dismissed due to an improper concurrent election of review types.
- Dismissed
The veteran withdrew all pending appeals, and the Board has no jurisdiction to review these issues.
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