The Board has found that the Veteran's bilateral pes planus was noted at the time of entry into active service and is presumed to have been aggravated by his military service. The Board also finds that there is reasonable doubt regarding whether the Veteran's left knee disability is related to his service-connected right knee disability, as well as reasonable doubt regarding whether the Veteran's current right knee disability is due to or aggravated by his service.
The deciding factor: The June 2017 VA examiner concluded that it was not possible to clearly connect the Veteran's foot pain to service and also less likely than not that his bilateral pes planus was aggravated beyond its natural progression by active service. The private medical opinion from Dr. B. B. raised a reasonable doubt with respect to the VA examiner's conclusions.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Foot Disorder (Pes Planus), Left Knee Disorder, Right Knee Disability
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 19, 2018
- Citation
- 1817122
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 1817122.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected knee disabilities are rated at 10% each, and the Board finds that higher ratings are not warranted based on the evidence of record.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral knee disabilities are not related to his active service, and thus denied both claims for service connection.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection of a right knee disability, finding that there is no evidence to support an etiological relationship between his current condition and his military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his low back, left knee, and right knee disabilities due to inadequate VA examinations. The AOJ is instructed to obtain private treatment records from Mays & Schnapp Pain Management and schedule the Veteran for additional medical examinations.
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