The Board has determined that the Veteran's lower spine disorder is service connected due to aggravation during service, and his gout of the feet may be secondary to his lower spine disorder.
The deciding factor: The evidence shows an in-service aggravation of a pre-existing back disorder, which led to current degenerative changes. The Board also found that it was at least as likely as not that the Veteran's foot disorder is related to his service-connected lower spine disorder.
- Claimed conditions
- degenerative disc disease and degenerative joint disease of the lumbosacral spine, gout of the feet
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 25, 2009
- Citation
- 0944872
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 0944872.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided that the Veteran's gout of his feet is related to a period of active-duty service and remands for further examination.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for all the claimed conditions as there was no evidence of a current disability or that any of the disabilities were related to active duty.
- Partly granted
The veteran was granted a 30% rating for GERD and a 50% rating for bilateral pes planus and plantar fasciitis with arthritis and gout of the feet. All other claims were denied.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's claim for service connection for gout of the feet has been dismissed due to his death during the appeal process.
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