The veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral heel spurs was denied, while he was granted a 10 percent disability rating for his lumbosacral strain with arthritic changes.
The deciding factor: The decision was based on the lack of evidence showing that the veteran incurred heel spurs or back injuries during active military service. However, there is objective evidence of limited range of motion in the thoracolumbar spine, warranting a 10 percent rating under the applicable criteria.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral heel spurs, Lumbosacral strain with arthritic changes (back disability)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- February 4, 2009
- Citation
- 0903905
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,977 · Granted: 27% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted 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. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 0903905.
What this means for you
A partial grant means some issues were granted while others were denied or remanded — common in multi-issue claims. Look at which issues went which way, and how each was argued.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim for an earlier effective date for TDIU, finding that it must be denied based on the date of claim. The effective date of service connection and TDIU cannot precede February 21, 2007 due to the filing dates of the claims.
- Denied
The Board denied a separate compensable rating for bilateral heel spurs as related to service-connected bilateral pes planus, finding no specific symptoms attributable to the Veteran's heels spurs and insufficient evidence of functional impairment.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has granted an initial disability rating of 10 percent for right foot hallux valgus and extended a temporary total rating for left foot hallux valgus. The issues of service connection for metatarsalgia, bilateral heel spurs, fusion of the bilateral fifth toes, and bilateral hammertoes are remanded for further development.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected varicose veins of the right and left lower extremities, as well as bilateral heel spurs, are each rated at 10 percent. The Board finds no basis to grant higher ratings under the applicable rating criteria.
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