The Board has reopened the Veteran's claim for service connection for a back disability, to include as secondary to bilateral foot disability. The Veteran's current diagnosis of lumbar and thoracic sprains is found to be related to his military service.,Service connection is granted for the Veteran's bilateral foot disability, with pes planus being determined to have been aggravated by active duty service.
The deciding factor: The Board finds that the Veteran had an in-service back injury and currently has a diagnosis of a back disability. The Veteran's service treatment records show a chronicity of symptoms during service, and credible lay statements indicate continuity of symptomatology since service.,The Veteran's pre-existing bilateral pes planus was found to have been permanently aggravated by his active duty service.
- Claimed conditions
- Back Disability, Bilateral Foot Disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 26, 2017
- Citation
- 1748244
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 1748244.
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 remanded the claims of service connection for a bilateral foot disability and migraine disability, both secondary to existing service-connected disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the VA rating decision denying service connection for a right knee disability and a back disability is not supported by adequate medical opinions, and thus remands the case for further development.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the Veteran's claims for service connection of a left knee disability, back disability, and left elbow disability must be remanded due to inadequate VA examinations. The Veteran provided lay reports of symptoms but the VA examiners did not consider these reports in their conclusions.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for a bilateral foot disability, finding that it is at least as likely as not caused by his service-connected psychiatric disability.
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