The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for a bilateral heel disability as secondary to his service-connected cervical spine disability. The evidence is approximately balanced as to whether the Veteran's current bilateral heel disability was caused by his May 2014 surgery on his service-connected cervical spine disability and recovery.
The deciding factor: The Board found that there was sufficient probative lay and private medical evidence to support a finding that the Veteran's current bilateral heel disability was caused by his service-connected cervical spine disability, specifically due to the required recovery from May 2014 surgery.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral heel disability
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 19, 2023
- Citation
- 23003425
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 23003425.
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 has determined that the Veteran does not have a current diagnosis of a bilateral heel disability and therefore, service connection for this condition is denied.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the appeals for service connection of diabetes mellitus, heart disability, bilateral heel disability, and hypertension as they are not eligible to be adjudicated due to the appellant's death.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for further development and consideration of issues related to service connection for bilateral heel disabilities, timely substantive appeal regarding severance of service connection for degenerative joint disease of the left knee, rating in excess of 10 percent for degenerative joint disease of left knee from 2009 to 2017, and entitlement to TDIU.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for bilateral heel disability, great right toe disability, and bilateral flat foot due to insufficient evidence regarding their etiology. A VA examination is needed to determine if these conditions are related to active service.
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