Ankle decisions — 2020

The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient evidence regarding whether the Veteran's PTSD is related to his in-service stressors, specifically witnessing his shipmate being murdered.

The Veteran's right ankle disability was rated at 10 percent effective July 29, 2013. The Board found that the increase in severity occurred prior to his claim for a higher rating.

The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus and a bilateral ankle disorder, finding that the evidence is in equipoise regarding these claims.

The Veteran's claim for a rating in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected left ankle sprain, status post Brostrom-Gould procedure, has been granted. The remaining issues of service connection for a left hip condition and an acquired psychiatric disorder have been remanded.

The Veteran's appeal is REMANDED for additional development to obtain relevant treatment notes and opinions regarding his claimed conditions, particularly in relation to multi-symptom illness associated with Persian Gulf War service.

The Board denied reopening of the claim for service connection due to lack of new and material evidence, and also denied the reopened claim itself.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for a right ankle disability and left knee disability, including as secondary to a right ankle condition due to inadequate examination and opinion.

The Board dismissed the appeal because the appellant requested to withdraw his appeal for service connection of a left ankle disorder.

The Board denied service connection for low back disorder, right knee disorder, and right ankle disorder due to lack of evidence showing a relationship between these conditions and military service.,The Veteran's claim for compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 was also denied as the proximate cause of his need for subsequent surgery was not found to be reasonably foreseeable or related to VA treatment.

The Veteran was granted TDIU prior to September 16, 2015 due to his service-connected disabilities. However, he is not entitled to TDIU on or after that date as his combined evaluation has reached 100 percent and there are no other service-connected disabilities rated at 60 percent or higher.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for a bilateral ankle disability and a bilateral knee disability due to insufficient examination or opinion regarding their etiology.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for an effective date prior to February 1, 2018, for dependency allowance benefits due to lack of evidence of claim and receipt of notice of dependents.

The Board has remanded the case due to a lack of consideration of the Veteran's lay statements and work history in the July 2016 VA examination. A new VA examination is required.

The Veteran's appeals for increased ratings for right ankle and PFB disabilities were dismissed because the claims were improperly placed on the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) docket under the legacy appeals process. The Veteran has withdrawn his appeals from this process.

The Board denied a rating higher than 10 percent for the Veteran's service-connected left ankle disability, finding that the symptoms more nearly approximated moderate limitation of motion.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a right ankle disability, finding that there was no evidence of a link between his active duty service and his current right ankle condition. The Board also found no aggravation by his service-connected left ankle disability.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded for additional development regarding his left ankle disability and right foot/heel disorders.

The Veteran is granted a TDIU and basic eligibility for education benefits under Chapter 35 (DEA) from December 17, 2008. The effective date of these awards has been set at this time.

The Board has remanded the issues of entitlement to service connection for right ankle, left ankle, right elbow, right foot, and right knee disorders due to inadequate medical opinions in previous VA examinations.

The Board denied the Veteran's appeal as his timely substantive appeal was not filed within the required time frame for the issues of hypertension and bilateral ankle, vision, and hearing loss.