The Board has granted service connection for lumbar spine DDD and left foot disability, including calcaneal cubid joint osteoarthritis and retrocalcaneal bursitis, secondary to the Veteran's service-connected left femur malunion. The decision also grants service connection for left foot drop, which is now service connected.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence supports a nexus between the Veteran’s current lumbar spine DDD, left foot calcaneal cubid joint osteoarthritis and retrocalcaneal bursitis, and his service-connected left femur malunion. The examiner's opinions were based on the Veteran's clinical history and supported with cogent rationale.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar spine degenerative disc disease (DDD), left foot calcaneal cubid joint osteoarthritis, left foot drop
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 10, 2020
- Citation
- 20052946
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 20052946.
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 has granted service connection for lumbar spine degenerative arthritis and DDD, as well as right and left lower extremity radiculopathy secondary to the now service-connected lumbar spine condition. The decision is based on a finding of relative equipoise in the evidence regarding whether these conditions are related to service.
- Denied
The Board denied compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for the Veteran's lumbar spine herniated disc, left lower extremity radiculopathy, and left foot drop due to a delay in VA providing timely neurosurgical care.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a duty to assist error regarding the service connection for left lower extremity radiculopathy, including as aggravated by service-connected lumbar spine degenerative disc disease (DDD).
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected lumbosacral spine disability, including spondylosis, lumbar spine degenerative disc disease (DDD), facet joint arthritis, and L4-5 disc bulge, is now rated at 40 percent effective June 11, 2019.
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