Ankle decisions — 2007

The Board has reopened the veteran's claims for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability and arthritis of the feet and ankles, but determined that new and material evidence was not received to reopen the claim for arthritis of the feet and ankles.

The veteran's appeal for a higher rating prior to April 9, 2004 was denied as there is no evidence of ankylosis or other conditions warranting a higher rating under the applicable VA rating criteria.

The veteran's death was not caused by any service-connected disability, and the Board finds that service connection for the cause of death is denied.

The veteran's service-connected PTSD and GERD are not at issue. The Board denied the claims for increased ratings for these conditions. Service connection for a low back disorder, skin disorder, bilateral knee disorder, bilateral ankle disorder, respiratory disorder, and fevers were all denied as they were not incurred in or aggravated by active military service.

The Board has determined that the veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral pes planus, to include as secondary to a service-connected disorder, is denied. The issue of ankylosis of the bilateral ankles was not addressed in this decision.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development due to incomplete records and further examination.

The veteran's claims of entitlement to service connection for right and left ankle disabilities, a chronic headache disorder, and chronic sinusitis are being remanded due to the need for further medical examination and opinion.

The Board has determined that the veteran does not have a current disability involving his hips, left ankle, eyes, or right side of his body that is related to service.,Service connection for an eye disorder, bilateral hip, left ankle, and right testicle disabilities are denied.

The Board has found that the veteran does not have a current disability related to his active service and therefore denied all three issues of entitlement to service connection.

The Board has granted service connection for a bilateral ankle disability as secondary to a service-connected right knee disability. The veteran's claims for increased ratings for arteriosclerotic heart disease and lumbosacral strain with bilateral sacroiliac arthritis have been denied, and the claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for instability of the right knee has also been denied.

The Board has determined that the veteran's claimed low back, right wrist, and bilateral ankle disabilities are not related to his military service. The claims for service connection have been denied.

The Board of Veterans' Appeals has determined that the veteran does not have a current right ankle condition etiologically related to any event during his active service.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for COPD, disability of the feet and ankles, spinal stenosis, and bilateral hip disability - avascular necrosis due to lack of evidence of a current disability.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for head injury residuals and a left ankle disability secondary to head injury residuals, finding that there was no evidence of an in-service disease or injury.

The Board has determined that service connection is not warranted for any of the claimed disabilities.

The veteran's claims for increased ratings and TDIU were denied. The RO found that the veteran did not meet the criteria for higher evaluations based on his service-connected right ankle, left ankle, low back strain, left shoulder, right shoulder, and left wrist disabilities.

The Board denied increased ratings for the veteran's service-connected right and left knee disabilities, as well as his service-connected right and left ankle disabilities. The criteria for a rating in excess of 10 percent were not met for any of the conditions.

The RO denied increased disability ratings for service-connected residuals of a left ankle injury and osteomyelitis of the left ankle.

The veteran's appeal is remanded for a VA examination to determine the etiology of his claimed disabilities, including Reiter's Syndrome and various joint conditions. The RO will then re-adjudicate the claims.

The veteran's service-connected low back disability, right femur disability, left femur disability, right tibia disability, and left knee disability are all rated at the maximum available rating of 20 percent. The veteran's right ankle and left ankle disabilities have not been shown to warrant a higher than noncompensable rating.