The Board denied service connection for foot problems and spinal problems, to include degenerative disc disease of the cervical and lumbar spine, as there was no evidence linking these conditions to the veteran's period of active military service.
The deciding factor: There is no medical evidence establishing an etiological relationship between the veteran's claimed foot and spinal problems and his period of active military service. The earliest evidence of these conditions was decades after discharge from service.
- Claimed conditions
- foot problems, spinal problems, to include degenerative disc disease of the cervical and lumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- April 18, 2008
- Citation
- 0812991
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,547 · Granted: 20% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 0812991.
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: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral foot conditions due to a lack of a VA examination, which was necessary given the Veteran's current symptoms and history.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the claims for service connection for bilateral flatfeet and foot problems due to inadequate medical opinions in previous examinations. The Veteran's statements of having foot pain during service are considered, along with a buddy statement.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the claims for service connection for bilateral flatfeet and foot problems due to inadequate medical opinion and new arguments from the Veteran.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for bilateral flat feet and foot problems due to insufficient evidence in the record, including a lack of documented treatment during service.
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