Ankle decisions — 2021

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for left knee and left ankle disabilities due to insufficient evidence. The Veteran must be provided with a VA examination to determine if he has any chronic disability of his knees or ankles, and whether it is related to service.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral foot disability and right knee disability have been granted. The issues of service connection for right ankle disability and left ankle disability are being remanded.

The Veteran's colonic diverticulum surgery residuals are rated at 30 percent, which is the highest available rating under the assigned diagnostic code. The right ankle degenerative arthritis remains rated at 10 percent.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for bilateral knee condition, bilateral ankle condition, and left shoulder condition due to insufficient medical opinions addressing their relationship to service.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is rated as noncompensable, the left ankle disability is rated at 20%, and PTSD is rated at 50%. The ratings are granted.

The Board denied service connection for a left hip disability, to include as secondary to service-connected disabilities. It also denied initial and increased ratings for lumbar spine strain and left ankle sprain. The case was remanded for further development regarding bilateral hearing loss.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for various musculoskeletal disorders and hypertension, finding that there is no evidence of in-service injury or disease related to these conditions.

The Board has decided that the Veteran's low back disability did not begin during service and is not related to an in-service injury, thus denying service connection. The right leg disability issue was remanded for further development.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims of service connection for left knee and left ankle disabilities due to a lack of adequate opinion regarding the etiology of these conditions.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities render him unable to secure and maintain substantially gainful employment, with the Board finding that his PTSD is the primary cause of his unemployment.

The Board has determined that additional development is needed to properly adjudicate the Veteran's claims for service connection, including obtaining treatment records and providing examinations.

The Board has denied service connection for all of the claimed disabilities as they are not shown to be related to service.

The Veteran's request to restore a 40 percent rating for lumbar spine disability from November 27, 2013 was granted. The effective date of this restoration is April 9, 2013.