The Veteran's petition to reopen service connection for a bilateral foot condition was granted due to the submission of new and material evidence indicating that his feet were damaged during basic training.,The petition to reopen service connection for a left arm condition was denied as the submitted evidence did not relate to an unestablished fact necessary to substantiate the claim, specifically because the Veteran's current left arm scar is attributed to his own willful misconduct.
The deciding factor: New and material evidence has been received that indicates the Veteran currently has a bilateral foot condition related to service. The treatment records indicate pain in the feet during service and post-service.,The submitted evidence does not relate to an unestablished fact necessary to substantiate the claim for left arm condition, as it is noted that the current scar on his left arm was caused by his own willful misconduct.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Foot Condition, Left Arm Condition (identified as right arm in service treatment records), Condition of the Teeth for Compensation Purposes, Brain Aneurysm
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 28, 2020
- Citation
- 20006398
Veterans Law Judge
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 20006398.
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.
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- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for COPD and bilateral foot condition due to a lack of medical opinions regarding the onset and relationship to service.
- Denied
The Board denied increased ratings for various conditions, including right and left knee limitations of flexion, bilateral foot condition, skin condition, and PTSD. The Veteran's claims were not granted as her conditions did not meet the criteria for higher ratings under applicable diagnostic codes.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection and an earlier effective date, finding that there was no evidence of current conditions or in-service aggravation to support these claims.
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