The Board has granted service connection for right and left knee disabilities, bilateral foot disabilities (including acquired pes planus, plantar fasciitis, metatarsalgia with callus formation, and hallux valgus), and a lower back disability. The Veteran's current diagnoses are consistent with her in-service symptoms of pain and swelling in her knees and feet.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran's current diagnoses were at least as likely as not related to her military service due to repetitive physical training, running, walking long distances, and wearing ill-fitting combat boots. The antalgic gait from her now service-connected foot and knee disabilities caused abnormal biomechanical stresses in her spine.
- Claimed conditions
- Right Knee Disability, Left Knee Disability, Bilateral Foot Disabilities (to include bilateral acquired pes planus, plantar fasciitis, metatarsalgia with callus formation, and hallus valgus), Lower Back Disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 24, 2022
- Citation
- 22036657
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 22036657.
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 Veteran's service-connected knee disabilities are rated at 10% each, and the Board finds that higher ratings are not warranted based on the evidence of record.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral knee disabilities are not related to his active service, and thus denied both claims for service connection.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection of a right knee disability, finding that there is no evidence to support an etiological relationship between his current condition and his military service.
- Denied
The Veteran's left knee disability is currently rated at 30 percent, and the Board finds no evidence of clear and unmistakable error in assigning an effective date of June 19, 2002.
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