The Veteran's death pension claim was denied because he did not meet the eligibility criteria for death pension benefits, as his service period was less than 90 days and he was discharged due to a pre-existing condition.
The deciding factor: The Veteran served only 32 days on active duty and was medically discharged due to a pre-existing bilateral flatfoot disability that existed prior to his entry into service.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral flatfoot disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 26, 2018
- Citation
- 18160466
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 18160466.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for service connection for various disabilities due to insufficient reasons or bases in the previous decision. The VA examiner did not adequately address the Veteran's lay statements about his symptoms during service.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for gout including gouty arthritis, right knee disability, left wrist disability, bilateral ankle disability, bilateral flatfoot disability, and heart disability. The Board found that there is no medical evidence or opinion linking these conditions to his military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for a right knee disability and bilateral flatfoot disability due to insufficient evidence in the record.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims due to insufficient evidence regarding the etiology of the Veteran's disabilities, particularly those related to his service. The Veteran is required to provide verification of all periods of active duty and ACDUTRA/INACDUTRA, and a VA examination must be conducted to determine if any current disabilities are related to his military service.
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