The Board granted the appellant's appeal to restore benefits for spina bifida, finding that the AOJ did not meet its burden of proof in severing the benefits.
The deciding factor: The evidence established that the diagnosis on which the initial grant of spina bifida benefits was predicated is not clearly erroneous.
- Claimed conditions
- Spina Bifida
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 3, 2021
- Citation
- A21019293
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 A21019293.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim as there is no evidence of spina bifida in the appellant's medical records, and her symptoms are better explained by other conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to an inadequate medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran was born with spina bifida or spina bifida occulta, and if so, whether he has residuals from either condition.
- Dismissed
The appeal was dismissed because the appellant died during the pendency of the appeal, and thus the Board has no jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of this case.
- Denied
The Board denied the appellant's claim for recognition as a helpless child of her father due to insufficient evidence showing she was permanently incapable of self-support prior to age 18, despite having significant employment and educational history.
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