The Veteran's bilateral pes planus was present before service and not aggravated by or during service, thus denying service connection.,There is no evidence that the Veteran’s lumbar spine disability is secondary to his service-connected costochondritis. The Board finds it unrelated to service on a direct basis as well.,Similarly, there is no evidence that the Veteran's right hip and left hip disabilities are secondary to his service-connected costochondritis or related to in-service injury. They are found not to be related to service.,The Veteran’s heart disability was denied due to lack of medical evidence linking it to service-connected costochondritis.,TDIU claim is denied as the preponderance of the evidence does not support a finding that the Veteran's service-connected disabilities prevent him from securing and following a substantially gainful occupation.
The deciding factor: The Board found no evidence showing bilateral pes planus was aggravated by or during service, thus denying service connection.,There is no medical evidence linking the lumbar spine disability to service-connected costochondritis. The VA examiner concluded it was unrelated to service on a direct basis as well.,VA examiners provided negative opinions that the hip disabilities are not secondary to service-connected costochondritis or related to in-service injury, and found them unrelated to service.,The Veteran's heart disability was denied due to lack of medical evidence linking it to service-connected costochondritis. The VA examiner concluded there is no relation between 1976 chest pain and current cardiac diagnosis based on the unrelated etiology of the two conditions.,VA examiners found that the Veteran’s strong risk factors for a heart disability are unrelated to his service-connected costochondritis, thus denying TDIU.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral pes planus, lumbar spine disability, right hip disability, left hip disability, heart disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- September 23, 2020
- Citation
- 20062569
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 20062569.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the claims for miscarriage, cervical spine disability, lumbar spine disability, and right elbow disability due to insufficient examination opinions and incomplete service history verification.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for left and right hip disabilities due to inadequate VA medical opinions. The Veteran will need an adequate VA medical opinion to determine if his hip disabilities are related to service.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the Appellant's requests for earlier effective dates for his service connection for bilateral pes planus and gynecomastia scar residuals, finding that the earliest possible effective dates are the dates of receipt of the claims.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the Veteran's claims for service connection for left knee disability, right knee disability, lumbar spine disability, and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) as these issues have been addressed in a separate docket.
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