The Veteran's claim for a higher disability rating for bilateral pes planus prior to August 2, 2017 was denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support a rating higher than 30 percent.
The deciding factor: The Veteran’s bilateral pes planus was characterized by severe pain and swelling, but no additional functional loss due to pain or other factors during use.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral pes planus, Left ankle disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 30%
- Decision date
- December 21, 2020
- Citation
- 20080267
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 20080267.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board has granted the appellant's claim for service connection for left ankle disability residuals, finding that his current condition is due to an in-service injury and granting the benefit of the doubt.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the Veteran's current bilateral pes planus is not service-connected due to a duty-to-assist error, and remands the case for further examination and opinion.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's claims for service connection have been dismissed due to their death.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for SMC(o) was denied as he could not receive multiple awards of SMC(l). The right shoulder bicipital tendonitis rating was denied, and the TDIU claim was granted.
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