Ankle decisions — 2007

The Board has determined that the veteran's bilateral hearing loss is causally related to his military service.,The Board has also determined that the veteran's tinnitus is causally related to his military service or is associated with his sensorineural hearing loss.

The Board has determined that the veteran is not entitled to service connection for the residuals of a left ankle injury or depression. The claim for hepatitis C was denied as well.

The Board has determined that there is no credible evidence of a neck injury, back injury, or right ankle disability in service. The veteran's current disabilities are not related to his military service.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including scheduling VA examinations and obtaining a supplemental statement of the case.

The case is being remanded for VCAA notice and to re-adjudicate the service connection claims, as they are inextricably intertwined with the DEA eligibility claim.

The Board has determined that the veteran's service-connected disabilities prevent him from securing and following a substantially gainful occupation, warranting an extraschedular TDIU.

The veteran withdrew her appeal for an initial evaluation in excess of 20 percent for tendonitis, right ankle. The case is remanded to verify the claimed stressor event for PTSD.

The Board denied a compensable rating for maxillary sinusitis and found no evidence of service connection for the left hip or ankle disabilities.

The Board found that the veteran's service-connected disabilities alone do not render him unable to engage in some form of substantially gainful employment, and thus denied his claim for TDIU on an extra-schedular basis.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including obtaining medical opinions and arranging for VA examinations to assess the veteran's bilateral eye disability and right ankle sprain with chip fracture.

The Board has determined that there is no evidence to support the veteran's claims of service connection for arthritis of the right knee, left knee disability, ankle disability, or ankylosing spondylitis of the lumbar spine. The preponderance of the evidence does not establish a link between these conditions and military service.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining service medical records and VA treatment records.

The Board has determined that additional efforts are needed to obtain the veteran's service medical records and other relevant post-service treatment records. The case is being remanded for these purposes.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including osteoarthritis of the right and left knees, chronic back strain, hip arthralgia, ankle fractures, hallux valgus, and a calcaneal spur, all secondary to her right knee disorder.

The VA denied the veteran's claim for an initial rating higher than 20 percent for her right ankle disability, finding that she does not have ankylosis and her disability is functionally equivalent to amputation with a prosthetic.

The Board has granted service connection for the veteran's disabilities of the right ankle, left ankle, bilateral knees, and low back as secondary to his service-connected right ankle sprain. The RO will need to assign a specific rating based on these findings.

The Board has granted a 30 percent evaluation for the veteran's left ankle disability, effective from the date of the claim. A separate 10 percent evaluation is also granted for painful scars on the left ankle.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for an increased rating for lumbar disc disease and service connection for residuals of a left ankle fracture.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral knee and ankle disabilities, finding that there is no competent medical evidence linking these conditions to his military service.

The Board found no medical evidence linking the veteran's left foot and ankle disorder to his military service, thus denying service connection.