Ankle decisions — 2018

The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, diagnosed as a mood disorder, is related to his service-connected right ankle disability and other service-connected degenerative arthritis disabilities. The Board has granted the claim for service connection of an acquired psychiatric disorder secondary to the Veteran's service connected right ankle disability.

The Veteran's left ankle disability, characterized by marked limitation of motion without malunion or ankylosis, warrants a 20 percent disability rating since August 11, 2010.

The Veteran's claims for left and right ankle disabilities, hepatitis C, and an acquired psychiatric disorder (Neurocognitive disorder) have been denied. The Board finds that the Veteran does not have current diagnoses of these conditions.,Service connection has been granted for Neurocognitive disorder due to a history of head injury during service.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, stomach disorder, and bilateral ankle disorder have all been denied. The Board found no evidence of chronic disabilities in service or at separation that could be linked to current conditions.

The Veteran's claims for hypertension, heart disorder, gastrointestinal disorder, right knee disorder, right ankle disorder, right leg disorder, and right foot disorder were denied. The claim for service connection of the gastrointestinal disorder was reopened due to new evidence received since the last denial in 1981. The remaining issues remain denied.

The Board found that the Veteran's current right knee and right ankle conditions are not causally related to his military service, thus denying service connection for both conditions.

The VA has determined that the Veteran's service-connected disability evaluations combine to an overall 60 percent rating under the Combined Ratings Table for the appellate period of September 2010 to February 2016.

The Veteran's right ankle disability and bilateral hearing loss have been rated at the minimum noncompensable level since February 11, 2014. The Board has determined that a higher rating is not warranted based on the evidence of record.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for left hip and right ankle disabilities, finding that there was no evidence of a nexus between these conditions and his active duty service.

The Veteran's current right ankle disorder is being remanded for a VA examination to determine if it is proximately due to or aggravated by her previously service-connected left ankle condition.

The Veteran's left ankle disability is rated at 20 percent effective August 28, 2017. Prior to this date, the disability was rated as 10 percent.

The Veteran's cause of death was not found to be service-connected as his diabetes mellitus did not manifest in active service, within one year after service, and is not otherwise etiologically related to active service. The immediate causes of death were thrombosis of deep leg veins and fracture of ankle that were not etiologically related to service.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for additional development due to insufficient evidence and need for further examination.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for a right ankle disability is being remanded due to the need for additional development, including obtaining medical opinions and treatment records.

The Veteran's claims for increased evaluations for his low back, right ankle, and left heel disabilities are being remanded due to the need for additional VA examinations and consideration of outstanding VA treatment records.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's claim of service connection for a right ankle disability cannot be reopened as there is no new and material evidence to support it.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded for additional development, including obtaining relevant private treatment records and scheduling a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of her ankle and knee disabilities.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including PTSD, recurrent left ankle strain, and tinnitus, are of sufficient severity to preclude securing or following substantially gainful employment. The criteria for a TDIU are met.

The Board finds that the Veteran's current right ankle disability is related to service, and thus grants service connection for a right ankle disability.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected right and left ankle disabilities, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the current level of disability.