The Board has granted service connection for degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine as secondary to flat feet with heel spurs and radiculopathy of the right lower extremity as secondary to degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine.
The deciding factor: The evidence is in equipoise regarding whether the Veteran's current conditions are proximately due to or the result of his service-connected disabilities, leading to a finding of service connection.
- Claimed conditions
- degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine, rheumatoid arthritis (implied by flat feet with heel spurs), radiculopathy of the right lower extremity
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 19, 2019
- Citation
- 19186452
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection and increased ratings due to a procedural error regarding notice of the right to a pre-decisional hearing.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for various disabilities, including knee and foot conditions, a low back disability, radiculopathy, tinnitus, and a neck condition, to correct pre-decisional errors in fulfilling VA's duty to assist by rescheduling missed examinations.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including left and right eye dry eyes, cataracts of the left and right eyes, neuropathy of the left lower extremity, radiculopathy of the right lower extremity, left renal arteriovenous malformation, aneurysm, pseudofolliculitis barbae (PFB), degenerative joint disease (DJD) of the lumbar spine, recurrent subluxation of the left knee prior to May 13, 2020, left total knee replacement, disability rating in excess of 60 percent from September 1, 2021, forward for left total knee replacement, DJD of the right knee, right knee instability, burns of the bilateral ankles, linear scar of the left knee, post-surgical tender scars of the left knee, and a total disability rating due to unemployability (TDIU) based upon service-connected disabilities prior to June 14, 2019.
- Granted
The Board granted a 40 percent evaluation for the Veteran's lumbosacral strain with spinal stenosis, spondylolisthesis, and intervertebral disc syndrome, as well as radiculopathy of the left and right lower extremities.
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