The Board found that the Veteran's right foot/ankle fracture and lumbar spine disability were not incurred or aggravated during service, nor are they secondary to a service-connected disorder.
The deciding factor: There is no evidence of any right foot/ankle injury or disability during service. The STRs only mention a single back injury in 1977 that was acute and transitory. No current diagnoses were found for the claimed conditions within one year post-service.
- Claimed conditions
- residuals of a right foot/ankle fracture, disability of the lumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 21, 2009
- Citation
- 0935431
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 0935431.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for lumbar and cervical spine disabilities due to a lack of substantial compliance with previous remand directives.
- Partly granted
Service connection for tinnitus is granted. All other claims are remanded for further review.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to concerns about the reliability of a study cited in previous VA examinations. The claims are being returned for further examination and opinion.
- Granted
The Veteran's claims for residuals of a right foot/ankle fracture and tinnitus are granted. The claim for bilateral hearing loss is denied.
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