The Board has reopened the previously denied claim of service connection for bilateral flat foot and granted it based on aggravation during service. The Veteran's pre-existing condition was found to have been aggravated by his military service.
The deciding factor: The Board found that there is a rebuttable presumption of aggravation due to combat hardships, which established the need to prove no increase in severity beyond natural progression.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral flat foot
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 4, 2019
- Citation
- 19125135
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 Board granted an effective date of January 22, 1994, for the award of service connection for bilateral flat foot.
- Granted
The Board granted an effective date of November 12, 2020, for the initial rating of 50 percent for bilateral flat foot.
- Dismissed
The veteran withdrew all pending claims as he has an overall 100 percent disability rating.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for various conditions, including bilateral flat foot, left and right knee disorders, left leg disorder, right hip disorder, prostate disorder, lower back disorder, and bilateral lower extremity neuropathy/radiculopathy, to cure pre-decisional duty to assist errors.
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