Ankle decisions — 2022

The Board has remanded the case to the Director of Compensation Service for extra-schedular consideration due to a disagreement with the July 2021 decision denying an earlier effective date for TDIU.

The Board has denied service connection for a right ankle disorder due to the lack of evidence showing chronicity or continuity of symptomatology since service. Service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, specifically Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), is remanded as there are insufficient opinions provided by VA examiners regarding the etiology of the condition.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to insufficient medical opinions and new examinations. The issues include obesity/weight gain, bilateral knee disorders, right ankle disorder, erectile dysfunction, metabolic syndrome, lung/breathing disorder, and DMII all related to his service-connected obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for compensation under 38 C.F.R. § 1151 due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the cause of his claimed disabilities and whether they are related to VA treatment.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's right ankle disability is etiologically related to service and grants service connection for this condition.

The Veteran's left ankle sprain residuals have resulted in marked disability throughout the appeal period, warranting a 30 percent disability rating.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's right ankle enthesopathy is related to a right ankle injury during service and grants service connection for this condition.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including lumbar spine disability, right ankle disability, bilateral knee disability, erectile dysfunction, and heart disability. The claims were not reopened due to lack of new and material evidence.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a fungal disability and arthritis of the body, feet and ankles. The Board found that there was no evidence linking these conditions to service.

The Veteran's lumbar spine disability is granted as service connected. The issues of service connection for other conditions are also granted.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for right ankle, right knee, left ankle, and left knee disorders due to a lack of evidence linking these conditions to his military service.

The Veteran's appeal for service connection of an eye disability was withdrawn. The reduction in the rating from 20 percent to 10 percent for right ankle disability was dismissed as improper, and the original 20 percent rating is restored. The Veteran's appeals for increased ratings for his right foot, left ankle, and low back disabilities are remanded.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including PTSD, lumbar spine disability, left and right knee disabilities, and ankle strains, precluded him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation from December 10, 2009 to March 11, 2012. A TDIU was granted for this period.

The Veteran's claims for service connection have been reopened, and the case is being remanded to obtain additional medical records and to provide a VA examination.

The Board has withdrawn the appeal of service connection for a prostate disability and has remanded several other issues related to various disabilities, including cervical spine, lumbar spine, shoulder, hip, knee, ankle, foot, upper extremity, lower extremity neuropathies, and an acquired psychiatric disorder. The Veteran's claims are now pending again with the RO.

The Veteran withdrew his appeals for all listed conditions, resulting in the dismissal of these claims.

The Veteran's tinnitus is granted as service-connected.,The appeal for sleep apnea has been rendered moot by the grant of service connection in a previous decision.,Initial disability ratings for left and right ankle disabilities are remanded due to lack of adequate medical examination addressing functional loss during flare-ups and repetitive use over time.,Service connection for residuals from nerve agent exposure is remanded as there is insufficient evidence regarding the etiology of these conditions.,Service connection for lumbar spine disability, secondary to service-connected bilateral ankle disabilities and acquired PTSD, is remanded due to lack of a medical opinion addressing causation or aggravation by service-connected disabilities.,Service connection for obesity (as an intermediate factor leading to back condition) is not addressed in the decision.

The Veteran's petition to reopen claims for service connection for right pinky boxer's fracture residuals, right hand scar, left ankle condition, left knee condition, and right knee condition have been granted.,Service connection has also been granted for tinnitus.

The Veteran's service-connected posttraumatic headaches and arthritis of the cervical spine, thoracolumbar spine, and left ankle rendered him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation since his retirement in October 2009.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including his back, knees, and neck conditions, have rendered him unable to secure or maintain substantially gainful employment. The Board has granted TDIU from November 5, 2015.