The Veteran's claim for service connection for flat feet in 1975 reasonably encompassed a claim for cold injury residuals of the bilateral lower extremities, and he is entitled to an effective date of November 21, 2000, but no earlier.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's October 1975 application for compensation or pension listed 'flat feet' as his condition. The Board inferred a claim for cold injury residuals based on the nature of the flat foot diagnosis and the Veteran's testimony at his December 2016 hearing, which indicated that his flat foot condition was partially due to exposure to cold during service.
- Claimed conditions
- cold injury residuals of bilateral lower extremities
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 8, 2017
- Citation
- 1731909
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 1731909.
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.
- Dismissed
The appellant has withdrawn his appeals regarding the service connection for cold injury residuals of bilateral lower extremities, bilateral ankle disability, and bilateral heel fracture residuals.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for cold injury residuals of the bilateral lower extremities and assigned effective dates. The claim for an earlier effective date for PTSD service connection remains pending.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
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