Ankle decisions — 2009

The Board denied service connection for residuals of spinal cord, left hip, bilateral knee, right shoulder, right elbow, and left ankle injuries as there was no competent medical evidence indicating that these conditions were causally or etiologically related to the veteran's active service.

The Board denied service connection for residuals of a right hand injury including a scar, a back disorder, and a foot and ankle disorder as the conditions were not shown to be causally related to the veteran's service.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for a right ankle, back and hip disability as there was no evidence of current disabilities or a relationship to his military service.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for residuals of a left ankle injury, numbness and tingling in the lower extremities and fingers, shrapnel embedded in the right knee, and right ankle and bilateral foot disabilities.

The veteran's right ankle disorder was rated at 20 percent from July 19, 2005, and the Board found that a higher rating of 20 percent is warranted for both periods on appeal.

The Board denied service connection for all conditions except an initial rating of 20 percent for arthritis of the left ankle.

The Board grants service connection for PTSD, as the evidence is at least in equipoise regarding a current diagnosis of PTSD related to service.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for higher initial ratings and earlier effective dates for PTSD, service connection for sleep apnea, heart disability, onychomycosis, lipomas, and left foot and ankle disability. However, it granted a 70 percent rating for PTSD as of May 3, 2006, due to worsening symptoms.

The Board remanded the issues of entitlement to initial disability ratings in excess of 10 percent for degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine with spondylolisthesis and left lower extremity radiculopathy for further development.

The Board remands the case for a VA orthopedic examination to determine if the veteran's current right ankle condition is related to his service.

The Board has reopened the claims for service connection for residuals of a low back and left ankle disabilities, but denied reopening the claim for a right ankle disability.

The Board denied service connection for peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral lower extremities, bilateral knee disabilities, bilateral hip/leg disabilities, bilateral ankle disabilities, and weight gain as secondary to pes planus with osteoarthritis of the feet.

The Board denied service connection for bilateral knee sprain, left ankle sprain, and low back disability as they were not incurred in or aggravated by the veteran's active duty service, nor are they proximately due to or the result of his service-connected right ankle.

The Board denied service connection for the veteran's claimed orthopedic and left thumb disabilities as there was no evidence of a disability during active duty or within applicable presumptive periods, and the current conditions were not related to his military service.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for higher initial ratings for residuals of right and left ankle injuries, finding that moderate limitation of motion was shown but not marked limitation.

The veteran was granted a 10 percent rating for right ankle disability from February 1, 2005 to December 4, 2006 and a noncompensable rating thereafter. The veteran's bilateral hearing loss was service-connected.

The appellant withdrew his appeals for service connection for PTSD, depression, patellofemoral stress syndrome with degenerative joint disease of the right knee secondary to service-connected instability of the right ankle with degenerative joint disease, left knee degenerative joint disease secondary to service-connected instability of the right ankle with degenerative joint disease, status post arthroscopy and debridement, and mechanical low back pain with degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine as secondary to the service-connected instability of the right and left ankle with degenerative joint disease.

The Board denied service connection for a lumbar spine, right ankle, and right great toe disability as there was no evidence of these conditions in service or within the relevant time frame. The claims to reopen for skin disorder and bilateral foot fungus were also denied due to lack of new and material evidence.

The appeal was remanded to reschedule the veteran's video conference hearing at the St. Paul RO.

The veteran's claims for service connection for right shoulder strain, left ankle strain, and a chronic disability manifested by chest pain were denied as there was no evidence linking these conditions to his military service.