The Board has reopened the Veteran's claim for service connection for arthritis of the ankles and granted it as secondary to his service-connected arthritis of the toes. The decision is based on evidence that raises a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim, including medical opinions linking the ankle condition to the service-connected toe condition.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran's ankle arthritis was at least as likely as not caused by or aggravated by his service-connected toe condition due to observations and opinions from VA podiatrists who treated both conditions over time.
- Claimed conditions
- arthritis of the ankles, arthritis of the toes
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 20, 2014
- Citation
- 1446380
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 1446380.
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.
- Partly granted
The veteran's claim for an increased rating for tinnitus was denied, but the effective date for service connection of tinnitus was granted as December 1, 2015. Service connection for hypertension was also granted.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's pes planus was granted service connection. The Board has ordered remand for further development regarding other bilateral lower extremity disabilities and the relationship between these conditions and his service-connected rheumatoid arthritis and pes planus.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection for arthritis of the hands, hips, legs and ankles, to include as secondary to medications prescribed for service-connected residuals of breast cancer and/or Graves' disease is dismissed.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed all appeals due to the appellant's request for withdrawal of his appeal.
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