Ankle decisions — 2018

The Board has remanded the claims for a left ankle sprain and tinnitus due to the need to obtain additional medical records, particularly from Maxwell Air Force Base. For the left ankle sprain claim, the Board is seeking private treatment records related to the appellant's current left ankle condition. For the tinnitus claim, the Board needs an addendum opinion considering the appellant's recent statements regarding the onset of his tinnitus.

The Veteran's appeal includes claims for service connection for various conditions, and the Board has remanded these issues due to their potential impact on a TDIU claim. The TDIU issue will be reconsidered after addressing the service connection claims.

The Veteran's diabetes and hypertension claims were denied. The Board found no evidence linking the Veteran's current disabilities to service, except for a possible link between his hand disability and service. The bilateral ankle disability claim was remanded.

The Board has granted service connection for a left knee disability, diagnosed as chondromalacia, patellofemoral joint, left knee, to include as secondary to service-connected residuals of a right foot fracture with a great toe injury. The claim of entitlement to service connection for a back disability is remanded.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection and rating increases, finding that his conditions did not warrant higher ratings based on the evidence of record.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities preclude him from engaging in substantially gainful employment, and the Board finds that a TDIU is warranted.

The Veteran's TDIU claim is remanded for additional development, including obtaining VA treatment records and scheduling the Veteran for appropriate VA examinations to evaluate his service-connected disabilities. The issue of service connection for a cervical spine disorder was previously remanded.

The Veteran's right ankle disability is currently rated at 30 percent, but the Board finds that a higher rating is not warranted as his symptoms do not meet or approximate criteria for ankylosis in dorsiflexion and plantar flexion.

The Board has denied service connection for a right elbow disorder and a left ankle disorder, finding that the current disorders are not related to active service or any service-connected disability. The Veteran's PTSD is currently rated at 70 percent.

The Board has denied service connection for a right elbow disorder and a left ankle disorder, finding that the current disorders are not related to active service or any service-connected disability. The Veteran's PTSD is currently rated at 70 percent.

The Veteran's claim for a disability rating in excess of 20 percent for residuals of a right ankle fracture is denied. The Board found that the available schedular ratings adequately describe his disability level and symptomatology, thus denying an extraschedular evaluation.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for additional development due to new evidence added to the record since the last adjudications.

The Board denied service connection for a bilateral hip, knee, and ankle condition as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected residual scar from a gunshot wound to the thigh.

The Veteran's tinea capitis was denied an increased rating, as it did not cover at least five percent of the entire body or affect at least five percent of exposed areas and did not require intermittent systemic therapy such as corticosteroids or other immunosuppressive drugs for a total duration of less than six weeks within the prior 12-month period.,The Veteran's left ankle disability was denied an increased rating, as it only met criteria for moderate limitation of motion. The next higher 20 percent rating requires marked limitation of motion.

The Veteran's left knee disability is granted as secondary to his service-connected right knee disability.,An earlier effective date of September 30, 2010, for the award of celiac idiopathic steatorrhea with GERD is denied.,An earlier effective date of July 11, 2012, for the award of left ankle disability is granted.,The grant of service connection for PTSD with depressive disorder was severed as there was clear and unmistakable error (CUE).

The Veteran's sleep apnea is granted as secondary to his service-connected anxiety disorder and opioid pain medications. The claims for left hip disability, right hip disability, bilateral ocular disability, respiratory disability, hypogonadism with erectile dysfunction, skin condition, recurrent sprains of the left ankle, recurrent sprains of the right ankle, degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, status post left foot tendon release with benign tumor of the plantar surface with plantar fasciitis, and status post right foot tendon release with benign tumor of the plantar surface with plantar fasciitis are all denied. The Veteran is granted a 50 percent rating for tension-migraine headaches.

The Veteran's appeals for increased ratings for right and left ankle disabilities, as well as service connection for bilateral hearing loss, were denied. The appeal is dismissed due to untimely NODs.

The Veteran withdrew all issues on appeal prior to the Board's decision.

The Veteran's service-connected right shoulder, right knee, left knee, and right ankle disabilities are being remanded for further evaluation due to inadequate previous examinations.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and remand of initial compensable ratings are all REMANDED due to the need for additional examinations with proper range of motion testing.