The Veteran's claims for frostbite of the left and right feet were denied, but his claim for low back pain was granted.,Service connection was established for low back pain, with a finding that it began during service.
The deciding factor: The Board found no evidence linking the current diagnosed conditions to service, except for the Veteran's lay testimony of experiencing recurrent back pain since service separation. The Board resolved this doubt in favor of the Veteran.
- Claimed conditions
- frostbite, left foot, frostbite, right foot, lumbar degenerative joint and disc disease (claimed as low back pain)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 12, 2021
- Citation
- 21001831
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 21001831.
What this means for you
A partial grant means some issues were granted while others were denied or remanded — common in multi-issue claims. Look at which issues went which way, and how each was argued.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various knee and foot disabilities, as well as shoulder disabilities, all of which are deemed to be unrelated to the Veteran's military service.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for a lumbar spine disability, bilateral plantar fasciitis, and an acquired psychiatric disability. Service connection was denied for frostbite residuals of the left and right feet, and remanded claims for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), hypertension, sleep apnea, and diabetes mellitus, type II.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims due to a lack of VA examination and opinion regarding his service connection claims for various disabilities, including bilateral hearing loss, arthritis, an enlarged heart, frostbite, prostate enlargement, kidney tumor, and high blood pressure. The Veteran contends that these conditions began during service or are related to service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided that the evidence is insufficient to dismiss the Veteran's inquiry about the PACT Act, and thus remanded for further development regarding potential toxic exposures.
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