The Board denied service connection for bilateral foot disability, left ankle peroneal tendonitis, right ankle sprain, left knee patellar tendonitis, and right knee patellar tendonitis as the evidence did not show an event or injury in active service, or a line-of-duty determination for the Veteran's National Guard training.
The deciding factor: The absence of complaints of foot, ankle, and knee pain during service and the lack of a line-of-duty determination were considered more credible than the Veteran's vague assertions of unspecified injuries in training and the existence of current disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral foot disability, left ankle peroneal tendonitis, right ankle sprain, left knee patellar tendonitis, right knee patellar tendonitis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 13, 2025
- Citation
- A25042683
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 20 percent rating for the service-connected right ankle sprain, but denied an increased rating in excess of 20 percent.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for bilateral foot disability, respiratory disability (breathing difficulty), cardiac disability (irregular heartbeat), and right hip disability as there was no evidence of a current disability or a link to active service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a bilateral foot disability to obtain an addendum medical opinion addressing whether the Veteran's pre-existing pes planus was aggravated by service.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for multiple disabilities, including bilateral wrist, ankle, foot, shoulder, allergic rhinitis, sinusitis, lumbosacral spine, and carpal tunnel syndrome, as the evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were related to active service.
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