Ankle decisions — 2015

The Board has determined that the Veteran's arthritis of the left knee and right ankle had its onset in service, resulting in a grant of service connection for these conditions.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have service connection for any of the claimed disabilities, as there is no evidence to support a finding of in-service incurrence or chronicity.

The Veteran's residuals of a right ankle injury are not shown to have been manifested by more than moderate limitation of motion, and thus the claim for an evaluation in excess of 10 percent is denied.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current arthritis of the lumbar spine, bilateral knees and bilateral ankles are related to his military service. The left foot disability is also found to be related to service.

The Board has remanded the case due to a scheduling error for an in-person hearing at the RO. The Veteran's claims of service connection for various conditions are pending.

The Veteran's claims for increased evaluation of his left ankle disability and service connection for right knee and low back disabilities were denied. The Board found that the Veteran did not meet the criteria for a rating in excess of 10 percent prior to January 2, 2013, and that he did not have a right knee or low back condition that was secondary to his left ankle disability.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded to obtain additional service treatment records and for a VA examination. The issues of entitlement to service connection for left ankle/foot, low back, and bilateral hip disabilities are pending.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and TDIU are being remanded due to the need for additional examinations, issuance of a Statement of the Case on certain issues, and obtaining outstanding treatment records.

The Veteran's residuals of a right ankle fracture are rated at 10 percent effective March 3, 2009. Prior to that date, the disability did not meet criteria for a higher rating.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for a bilateral hearing loss disability was denied as there is no evidence of hearing loss meeting VA criteria throughout the appeal period. The claims for right shoulder, thumb and ankle conditions are remanded for further development.

The Veteran is entitled to an effective date of April 27, 2004 for the grant of a TDIU due to service-connected disabilities preventing him from obtaining or maintaining substantially gainful employment.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development to address her claim of entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities (TDIU).

The Board found that the Veteran's left ankle disability produced pain on use prior to April 12, 2010 and granted a 10 percent rating for this period.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining treatment records and scheduling a VA examination to evaluate the severity of his right ankle disability.

The Veteran's ankle disabilities have been rated at 30 percent since November 29, 2013. The VA determined that the ankylosis in both ankles (right and left) is limited to plantarflexion between 5-40 degrees on the right and 15-40 degrees on the left.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities did not preclude substantially gainful employment prior to October 9, 2013.

The Board found that the Veteran's left ankle and right foot disabilities were not incurred in or aggravated by service, while his left foot disability (including plantar fasciitis) was related to a verified period of active duty training. The Veteran's current diagnoses are unrelated to service.

The Veteran has withdrawn all of her claims on appeal, including those for service connection and initial disability ratings.

The Board found that new and material evidence had not been received to reopen the claim for service connection for hypertension. Ratings were denied for the Veteran's left and right knee disabilities, with no rating assigned for his left ankle disability.

The Veteran's claim for a schedular disability rating in excess of 20 percent for degenerative joint disease of the right ankle has been denied. The Board found that he is already receiving the highest schedular rating available under all applicable Diagnostic Codes for the ankle.