Ankle decisions — 2017

The Veteran's right wrist, ankle, and knee disabilities are found to be related to service. Her acquired psychiatric disorder is also found to be related to service.

The Veteran's claims for residuals of a fracture of the right great toe and right ankle disorder, as well as his claim for service connection for headaches (residuals of head injury) were denied. The Board found no evidence of current disabilities related to these conditions.

The Board found that the Veteran's current left ankle DJD is not related to his in-service injury and denied service connection for a left ankle disability.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not prevent him from obtaining and maintaining substantially gainful employment.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities are shown to be of such severity so as to preclude substantially gainful employment consistent with his education and experience, effective October 16, 2013.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining updated VA treatment records and scheduling a VA examination to address his right knee disability. The claims for service connection for bilateral pes planus and TDIU are also being remanded.

The Veteran's claims for service connection were denied as his claimed conditions are not related to his in-service exposure to ionizing radiation.

The Board found that the Veteran's current disabilities of the left ankle, bilateral knees, lung, right shoulder, and right hip are not due to an undiagnosed illness or medically unexplained chronic multisymptom illness. The preponderance of the competent medical evidence is against a finding that these conditions were incurred in service or as secondary to a service-connected disability.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining an adequate VA examination and addressing the applicability of Sharp v. Shulkin.

The Veteran's service-connected ankle disabilities do not meet the schedular criteria for a higher evaluation, but his functional limitations prevent him from securing and maintaining substantially gainful employment.,The Veteran's service-connected ankle disabilities result in significant functional impairment that cannot be adequately captured by the current rating schedule.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including a VA examination and the completion of his VA Form 21-22. The TDIU issue is inextricably intertwined with the right ankle issue.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded to ensure a new VA examination for his right ankle disability and to address the TDIU claim in light of any additional evidence.

The Veteran's PTSD symptoms are rated at the maximum schedular rating of 70 percent, and he is granted a separate compensable disability rating for TBI. The hearing loss in the left ear has been service-connected, and his migraine headaches have also received an increased rating.

The Veteran's gout involving the bilateral ankles and bilateral first metatarsophalangeal joints is rated at a 40 percent disability effective January 2, 2014. Prior to that date, it was rated at 20 percent.

The Board has granted an effective date of November 10, 2009 for the assignment of a 10 percent rating for the Veteran's right ankle disability. The claimant contends that this is also the appropriate effective date for service connection.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims of entitlement to service connection for compartmental exhaustion syndrome of the bilateral ankles, bacterial vaginosis, tingling and numbness of the bilateral upper and lower extremities, fibromyalgia, and obesity. The evidence does not support a finding that these conditions are related to service.

The Veteran's claims for increased schedular rating and TDIU are being remanded due to the inextricability of these issues with the extraschedular rating issue. Additional development is needed, including obtaining medical records and assessing the current nature and severity of her service-connected disabilities.

The Veteran's claims for service connection have all been denied due to lack of new and material evidence.,There is no indication that any exposure basis (e.g., burn pit, Agent Orange, Camp Lejeune) played a role in the development of any of these conditions.

The Veteran is found to be in need of regular aid and attendance due to his service-connected back, knee, and ankle disabilities that result in difficulty with activities of daily living such as dressing, grooming, preparing meals, and medication management.

The Board found no evidence of a service-connected back disability, rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, or right ankle and bilateral leg disabilities. The Veteran's current conditions are not related to her military service.