The Board has determined that the appellant does not have a diagnosis of spina bifida, but instead has spina bifida occulta. As such, she is not eligible for benefits under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1805.
The deciding factor: The VA medical opinion found that the appellant had diagnoses of spina bifida occulta and hip dysplasia, with spina bifida occulta being an incidental finding and not a cause of her hip dysplasia symptoms.
- Claimed conditions
- spina bifida occulta, hip dysplasia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 6, 2017
- Citation
- 1700344
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 1700344.
What this means for you
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for service connection for spina bifida occulta (claimed as low back condition or back) was denied because he failed to report for a required VA examination without good cause, and the criteria for direct service connection were not met.
- Denied
The Veteran's child is denied benefits under 38 U.S.C. § 1805 for spina bifida because the diagnosis of spina bifida occulta does not meet the criteria.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has found that the Veteran's service connection claim for spina bifida occulta with degenerative arthritis and osteopenia is remanded due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the nature of his pre-existing condition.
- Denied
The Board denied benefits for a child born with birth defects and spina bifida under 38 U.S.C. § 1805, as the appellant does not have a diagnosis of spina bifida and is not the biological daughter of the Veteran.
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