Ankle decisions — 2010

The Veteran does not currently have any of the claimed conditions and there is no service connection granted for any condition.

The Board has reopened the appellant's previously denied service connection claims for residuals of a stroke, poor circulation, blindness of the left eye, heart disability to include angina, and lung disorder. The right leg and ankle disorder claim is also reopened. Service connection was granted for PTSD with a 50% disability rating effective August 25, 2003. However, the Board found that new evidence did not establish service connection for chest injury or jaw injury.

The Board has granted service connection for a chronic left hip condition, but denied service connection for chronic left knee and left ankle conditions due to lack of current diagnoses.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including a medical examination and opinion regarding the Veteran's left ankle disorder.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for a neurological disability of the right hand, and for higher ratings for bilateral pes planus, major depression, right and left knee disabilities, and right and left ankle disabilities were denied. The Board found that there was no evidence of a current neurological disability of the right hand, and that the Veteran did not meet the criteria for an initial compensable rating or increased ratings for his service-connected bilateral pes planus, major depression, right and left knee disabilities, and right and left ankle disabilities.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his right ankle and left knee disabilities were denied. The Board found that the current disability ratings adequately reflected the severity of the conditions.

The appellant's claim for non-service connected pension benefits is denied as he did not meet the basic eligibility requirements due to his short period of active duty service and lack of a service-connected disability.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected right hand/wrist disability, right ankle disability, and cervical spine disability have been denied. The right hand/wrist disability is currently rated at 10% due to limitation of motion. The right ankle disability has been granted a 10% rating based on moderate instability with flare-ups approximately four to five times per month resulting in pain and swelling.

The Veteran's left ankle sprains are rated at 10% and her major depressive disorder is rated at 100%, effective June 23, 2005. The portion of the July 2007 Board decision denying increased ratings for left ankle sprains was vacated.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's low back disability is service-connected, but his right ankle disability was not incurred in or aggravated by active service.

The Veteran is seeking service connection for various conditions including depression and anxiety, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), arthritis/osteoarthritis of the feet, toes, and ankles, an epididymal cyst, skin lesions, and a deviated nasal septum. The Board finds that additional development is needed to determine if these conditions are related to his military service.,The Veteran is seeking increased rating for his deviated nasal septum. The Board finds that additional development is needed to determine the current severity of this disability.,The Veteran is seeking service connection for depression and anxiety, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), arthritis/osteoarthritis of the feet, toes, and ankles, an epididymal cyst, skin lesions, and a deviated nasal septum. The Board finds that additional development is needed to determine if these conditions are related to his military service.,The Veteran is seeking service connection for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), arthritis/osteoarthritis of the feet, toes, and ankles, an epididymal cyst, skin lesions, and a deviated nasal septum. The Board finds that additional development is needed to determine if these conditions are related to his military service.,The Veteran is seeking service connection for depression and anxiety, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), arthritis/osteoarthritis of the feet, toes, and ankles, an epididymal cyst, skin lesions, and a deviated nasal septum. The Board finds that additional development is needed to determine if these conditions are related to his military service.,The Veteran is seeking increased rating for his deviated nasal septum. The Board finds that additional development is needed to determine the current severity of this disability.

The Veteran's appeals for service connection on the issues of bilateral hearing loss, chronic low back pain (L1-L3), and a bilateral ankle disability have been withdrawn.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for a further VA orthopedic examination to determine the degree of limitation of motion for his right ankle during flare-ups of pain.

The Board has reopened the Veteran's claim for service connection for a left ankle disability and finds that new evidence supports this reopening. The Board also finds sufficient evidence to grant service connection, concluding that it is as likely as not that the current left ankle disorder is causally linked to an in-service injury during basic training.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim of service connection for residuals of a left ankle fracture, finding no evidence of such injury during his military service and concluding that any current disability is not related to service.

The Veteran's appeal for an increased rating for his service-connected left ankle and heel spur disability is denied. The Board finds that the evidence does not support a higher initial evaluation. For the claim of secondary service connection for a left knee disorder, additional examination and opinion are needed to determine if the current left knee condition is related to the service-connected left ankle and heel spur.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including neck injury, heat exposure, thoracolumbar spine disability, left ankle disability, skin condition, tinnitus, PTSD, gastrointestinal disorder, erectile dysfunction, fibromyalgia, and sleep disorder. The evidence does not support a finding that any of these conditions are related to service.

The Veteran withdrew his appeal for service connection on multiple conditions, including bilateral plantar fasciitis of the feet, bilateral shin splints, onychomycosis of the toe nails, sinusitis, prostatitis, residuals of a fracture of the right first and second metacarpals, bilateral osteoarthritis of the ankles, bilateral degenerative joint disease (DJD) of the knees, and ulcer disabilities.

The Board denied service connection for residuals of a left ankle fracture and orthopedic disabilities of the back, hips, knees, and legs due to lack of evidence during service or within one year of discharge.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's left ankle disability is related to her service, and thus granted service connection for this condition. The cervical spine disability was not shown to be related to service.