The Board denied the Veteran's claims for bilateral ankle, leg, and foot disabilities as secondary to service-connected low back and/or knee disabilities. The claim for an eye disorder was remanded due to missing service treatment records and insufficient evidence of a current disability. The claim for a sleep disorder was also remanded due to missing service treatment records and insufficient evidence of a current disability. The claim for headaches was denied as there was no current disability.,The Veteran's bilateral foot disability (trench foot) is granted, but the other issues remain pending.
The deciding factor: For the ankle, leg, and foot disabilities, the VA examiner found that these conditions are not related to service-connected low back and knee disabilities. For the eye disorder, there was insufficient evidence of a current disability. For the sleep disorder, there were missing service treatment records. For the headaches, there was no current disability.,For the bilateral foot disability (trench foot), the Veteran's diagnosis is supported by expert evidence.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral ankle disability, bilateral leg disability, bilateral foot disability (trench foot), eye disorder, sleep disorder, headaches
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 22, 2020
- Citation
- 20080411
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for headaches and increased ratings for left shoulder rotator cuff tear, right shoulder rotator cuff tear, hypertension, and left and right leg restless leg syndrome. The Board denied a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss and an initial rating in excess of 70 percent for posttraumatic stress disorder.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for an increased initial disability evaluation of headaches due to an inadequate VA examination.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for multiple disabilities, including cervical spine and thoracolumbar spine disabilities, radiculopathies, a bladder disability, headaches, a left knee disability, an acquired psychiatric disorder, and bilateral conjunctivitis. The Board also granted entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disability.
- Dismissed
The appeals for restoration of ratings and for a higher disability rating were dismissed as the April 2025 rating decision did not make final decisions on these issues.
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