Plantar fasciitis Secondary to Flatfoot (VA Claims)

Plantar fasciitis (VA diagnostic code 5269) is sometimes claimed as secondary to service-connected Flatfoot (code 5276) under 38 CFR 3.310. This page reports what published Board of Veterans' Appeals decisions on that pairing show. It is an encyclopedic reference, not a forecast.

What published Board decisions show

Across 673 published Board (BVA) decisions in our index where plantar fasciitis was claimed as secondary to flatfoot, the outcomes broke down as follows. These are historical aggregates of decided appeals, not a prediction for any individual claim.

35%

Granted

33%

Denied

30%

Remanded

Granted 233Denied 222Remanded 200 (sent back for more development)

Counting only appeals that were granted or denied (setting aside remands), about 51% were granted. A remand is not a loss; it means the Board needed more evidence before deciding.

Source: aggregate of published BVA decisions indexed by RateMyVSO. Secondary service connection rule: 38 CFR § 3.310. Figures describe decided appeals and can change as new decisions are indexed.

Why plantar fasciitis is claimed secondary to flatfoot

Documented mechanism (plausible)

Flatfoot increases plantar fascia stress and inflammation.

This rationale is generated from the data for this specific pairing, not hand-written per page. The grant and denial figures above come only from the decision data, never from the rationale text.

Whether that medical link exists in any one case is a medical question decided on that case's own evidence (the nexus).

What a secondary claim on this pairing needs

Under 38 CFR 3.310 a secondary claim turns on three elements:

A current diagnosis: a medical diagnosis of plantar fasciitis (the secondary).
A service-connected primary: Flatfoot, already service-connected (the primary). A 0% primary still counts.
A medical nexus: a medical opinion linking the plantar fasciitis to the flatfoot, showing the primary caused or aggravated it.

See the Secondary Claim guide for the caused-versus-aggravated split, and the Nexus Letter guide for what makes the medical opinion strong.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Flatfoot have to be highly rated to support a plantar fasciitis secondary claim?

No. 38 CFR 3.310 looks at whether the service-connected Flatfoot caused or aggravated the plantar fasciitis, not at how severe the Flatfoot rating is. Even a 0% service-connected primary can anchor a secondary claim.

What do the percentages on this page mean?

They are the historical outcomes of 673 published Board decisions on this exact pairing: 35% granted, 33% denied, 30% remanded. They describe decided appeals already on record. They do not predict what would happen in any individual case.