The Board denied service connection for a thoracolumbar spine disability and foot disability as there is no evidence to support that these conditions are related to the Veteran's military service or secondary to a service-connected condition.
The deciding factor: The evidence of record does not show symptoms consistent with a back or foot disability for several years following his discharge from service, and the VA examiners concluded that the current disabilities were less likely than not incurred in or caused by the claimed in-service injury, event, or illness.
- Claimed conditions
- foot disability, thoracolumbar spine disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 27, 2025
- Citation
- 25007138
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,569 · Granted: 26% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 25007138.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the claims for service connection for cervical and thoracolumbar spine disabilities due to a predecisional duty to assist error. The Veteran's past medical history needs to be considered in the new examination.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a thoracolumbar spine disability, but denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss disorder, gout, multiple painful joints, bilateral ankle disorder, bilateral knee disorder, and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete development and the need for a new examination. The appellant's service connection claim for a foot disability is being reviewed.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims due to pre-decisional duty to assist errors, requiring additional medical opinions and development.
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