The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection of a bilateral flat foot disability, finding that new evidence did not raise a reasonable possibility of substantiating his claim. The preexisting condition was determined to be aggravated by military service beyond its natural progression.
The deciding factor: The November 2014 VA medical opinion found no aggravation of the Veteran's preexisting bilateral flat foot disability during service, and the Veteran's lay assertions were not competent to establish a nexus between his current condition and service.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral flat foot disability
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 19, 2017
- Citation
- 1758801
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 1758801.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied the claims for increased ratings for left knee posttraumatic arthritis and bilateral flat foot disability, finding that the evidence did not support higher ratings.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the claims for service connection for right ankle, left ankle, and bilateral flat foot disabilities. The claim for TDIU was denied for both periods.
- Denied
The Veteran's total combined rating reached 100 percent on September 21, 2020, which is the effective date for his basic eligibility to Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA). The appeal is denied as the criteria for an earlier effective date are not met.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his bilateral foot and knee disabilities due to procedural errors in the April 2022 decision, including failing to address the Veteran's July 2019 hearing testimony regarding loss of reflexes and control of feet, and VA's duty to notify and assist.
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