Ankle decisions — 2011

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected right knee and right ankle disabilities are being remanded to allow for additional development, including obtaining a new VA examination.

The Board has ordered additional development to determine the cause of the Veteran's death and whether his service-connected disabilities contributed to it. The case is now remanded for further action.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for increased rating and service connection for right knee disability. The preponderance of evidence showed that the left ankle disability did not result in marked limitation of motion, thus denying an increased rating. Regarding the right knee disability, the claim was decided on a direct basis without any indication of secondary or other theories.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings of his service-connected right and left ankle disorders, hypertension, and gastritis were denied. The Veteran also had claims regarding a right knee disorder that were not addressed in this decision.

The Veteran's initial claim for a compensable rating for gouty arthritis of bilateral ankles was denied. The Board found that the evidence did not meet the criteria for a compensable rating prior to June 18, 2009, and for a 10 percent rating from that date forward.,The Veteran's claim for a compensable disability rating for hemorrhoids was also denied by the Board. They determined that his hemorrhoid pathology did not meet the criteria for a compensable evaluation.

The Veteran does not have residuals of right knee injury, left knee injury, right ankle injury, or left ankle injury due to service. His claims for service connection are denied.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's claimed left shoulder and clavicle disorder, as well as his left ankle disorder, are not related to his active military service. The claims for these conditions have been denied.

The Board has determined that the submitted evidence does not raise a reasonable possibility of substantiating the Veteran's claims for service connection for residuals of a right ankle injury and residuals of a head injury, as it is neither new nor material. As such, the claims are denied.

The Board found no current disability related to the Veteran's knee and ankle disorders, thus denying service connection for these conditions.

The Veteran's left ankle sprain with degenerative changes was found to have no more than moderate limitation of motion, and thus did not meet the criteria for a higher rating.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to incomplete examination reports and outstanding VA medical records. The Veteran is required to undergo further examinations and provide additional evidence as requested.

The Board has determined that additional development is needed to obtain relevant service records and medical records, as well as to schedule the Veteran for VA examinations. The claims will be reconsidered after this additional development.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's claimed right knee, left knee, and right ankle disorders are not related to service. The evidence does not support a finding of in-service injury or disease, nor is there credible evidence of continuity of symptomatology since service separation.

The Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for service connection and disability ratings have been denied as there is no credible evidence of a formal or informal claim prior to May 22, 2006.

The Veteran's claim is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining VA medical records and scheduling a VA examination to assess the severity of his service-connected right ankle disability.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for a left ankle disability and bilateral hand disability, including carpal tunnel syndrome, were denied. The Board found no evidence of current disabilities except possibly carpal tunnel syndrome in the right and left hands.

The Board found that the Veteran's back disorder was incurred during service and granted service connection. The bilateral hip and knee disorders are considered secondary to the back disorder, as is the right ankle disorder.

The Board denied service connection for epidermal cysts and degenerative joint disease of the bilateral ankles, finding that there was no evidence linking these conditions to military service.

The Board has ordered a remand to obtain additional medical opinions regarding the Veteran's claims for service connection. The issues of direct, secondary, and aggravation service connection will be adjudicated after the additional development.

The Board finds that the Veteran does not have a current diagnosis of a bilateral ankle disability and therefore, service connection for this condition is denied.