The Board finds that the preponderance of the evidence is against a finding that the Veteran's current bilateral ankle condition was aggravated in service, and thus denies the claim for service connection.
The deciding factor: The medical opinions provided do not address whether the Veteran's pre-existing conditions were aggravated by his military service, as required to establish service connection through aggravation.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral pes planovalgus deformities (claimed as bilateral feet condition), bilateral ankle contracture, bilateral ankle arthralgia (right greater than left), bilateral arthritis, bilateral ligament damage, bilateral ankle pain
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 30, 2018
- Citation
- 1805773
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 1805773.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Dismissed
The appeal for service connection for multiple conditions, including bilateral hand (fingers/thumb) condition, ankle pain, foot pain, hip pain, knee pain, low back pain, migraines, sciatica, and TBI, has been withdrawn by the appellant's representative.
- Dismissed
The appeal for service connection for multiple conditions, including bilateral ankle pain, foot pain, hip pain, knee pain, low back pain, and sciatica, has been withdrawn by the appellant's representative.
- Dismissed
The Board denied the request for an extension of time to file an appeal and dismissed the attempted appeals of the February 2020 and September 2020 rating decisions.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for bilateral ankle pain and low back pain, as the evidence did not support a link between these conditions and the Veteran's military service.
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