The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for gout of the bilateral feet, finding that there was no nexus between his current disability and military service or his service-connected disabilities. The Board determined that the evidence did not support a direct relationship and found insufficient secondary service connection based on existing medical research.
The deciding factor: The preponderance of evidence did not support a nexus between the Veteran's gout and either military service or his service-connected conditions, including diabetes mellitus type II and lower extremity surgeries.
- Claimed conditions
- gout of the bilateral feet
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- October 8, 2020
- Citation
- 20065591
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,020 · Granted: 19% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed decisions on this site)
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 20065591.
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: Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection on all listed conditions was dismissed due to the untimely filing of a Notice of Disagreement.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board granted a 30 percent rating for gout of the bilateral feet, but no higher.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board remanded the claim for service connection for diabetes mellitus, including as secondary to other service-connected conditions. The Veteran's theory is that his diabetes was caused by obesity resulting from his service-connected gout, lower back strain, and right ankle bursitis.
- Whole decision: Partly granted
The veteran's service connection for GERD and tinnitus was granted, but denied for gout of the bilateral feet and bilateral hearing loss.
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