The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including severe lumbar spondylosis and bilateral pes planus with Achilles and posterior tibial tendonitis, prevented him from securing and maintaining substantially gainful employment beginning February 15, 2017. The Board granted a TDIU based on the combined rating of 70 percent.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including severe lumbar spondylosis with degenerative disc disease and bilateral pes planus with Achilles and posterior tibial tendonitis, rendered him unable to secure or maintain substantially gainful employment due to their impact on his ability to work at a sedentary level.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral pes planus with Achilles and posterior tibial tendonitis, severe lumbar spondylosis with degenerative disc disease, recurrent sebaceous cyst, back of neck
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 60%
- Decision date
- October 28, 2019
- Citation
- A19002312
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,893 · Granted: 31% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 A19002312.
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.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the appeal as to the issue of entitlement to a rating in excess of 50 percent for bilateral pes planus with Achilles and posterior tibial tendonitis due to invalid jurisdiction over this claim at the time of the March 2009 decision.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for a new VA examination to address whether his service-connected pes planus has caused or aggravated his low back disorder, and for the RO to consider additional evidence submitted by the appellant.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for a back disorder and for higher ratings for his bilateral pes planus, finding that his back disorder is not related to his service-connected bilateral pes planus. The claim for TDIU was also denied.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's headaches are at least as likely as not caused by his service-connected traumatic brain injury, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
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