The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral foot arthritis and bilateral ankle arthritis, finding that there was no evidence of an in-service occurrence or a link to service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner opined that the current bilateral foot arthritis is less likely than not related to the right ankle sprain injury nor related to marching while wearing ill-fitting boots. The VA examiner also found that the Veteran's bilateral ankle arthritis pain is less likely than not related to the right ankle sprain injury.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral foot arthritis, bilateral ankle arthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 6, 2023
- Citation
- 23043542
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 23043542.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for an adequate VA etiology opinion due to a lack of clear conclusions and supporting data in the previous examination.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew the appeals for service connection for bilateral hand arthritis and bilateral foot arthritis, and they have been dismissed.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for a right shoulder disability and remanded the claims for bilateral ankle arthritis, sleep apnea, bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome, erectile dysfunction, degenerative disc disease, cervical, bilateral plantar fasciitis with arthritis and heel spurs, and gastroesophageal reflux disease.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for various foot conditions due to a need for additional medical opinions.
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