The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's right foot injury and remanded the issue of service connection for DDD of the lumbar spine as secondary to a right foot injury. A new VA examination is needed to determine if the DDD is directly related to active military service or aggravated by the right foot injury.
The deciding factor: The Board found that it was at least as likely as not that the Veteran's current right foot condition and DDD of the lumbar spine are etiologically related to his active service, based on the evidence including VA examination reports and lay statements. However, a new VA examination is needed to address whether the DDD is directly related to active military service or aggravated by the right foot injury.
- Claimed conditions
- Right Foot Injury, Degenerative Disc Disease (DDD) of the Lumbar Spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 10, 2018
- Citation
- 18117151
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 18117151.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected lumbar spine and associated bilateral lower extremity radiculopathies rendered him unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment from June 30, 2006, onward. The Board granted a 20% disability rating for the period on appeal (not including any periods of convalescence) due to severe muscle spasm and guarding resulting in abnormal gait or spinal contour.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's right foot injury, ankle inversion injury, and dermatitis and folliculitis are being remanded for further development due to the complexity of the issues.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the AOJ's decision denying service connection for OSA, claimed as secondary to service-connected psychiatric disorder and DDD of the lumbar spine, is flawed due to a failure to consider whether obesity was an intermediate step in the development of OSA. The case is being remanded to obtain an addendum medical opinion.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's PTSD symptoms more nearly approximate the criteria for a 70 percent rating, warranting an increased rating.,Service connection for lumbar degenerative disc disease (DDD) and degenerative arthritis is remanded due to insufficient evidence in the record.,The Veteran's current employment status does not affect his entitlement to service connection for DDD and degenerative arthritis.
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