The Board has determined that the Veteran's low back disability is proximately due to his service-connected bilateral ankle disabilities and grants service connection for this condition.
The deciding factor: The evidence shows a correlation between the Veteran's pes planus and valgus deformity of the heel, which might be exacerbating the pain in his low back. The VA examiner concluded that there was no direct evidence or study showing degenerative joint disease of the ankles leading to degenerative joint disease and degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disc and joint disease 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
- May 30, 2014
- Citation
- 1424353
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 1424353.
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.
- Granted
The Board has restored the Veteran's disability rating for his lumbar spine disability from 40% to 40%, effective August 31, 2020. The reduction was improper due to lack of actual improvement in the Veteran's condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the Veteran's claim for a rating in excess of 50 percent for degenerative disc and joint disease of the lumbar spine due to an inadequate VA examination.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claim for a VA examination and another, adequate, VA addendum opinion to properly rate his lumbar spine disability due to insufficient reasoning in the August 2024 VA medical opinion.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not prevent him from securing or following substantially gainful employment.
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