Ankle decisions — 2024

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not preclude him from securing and following substantially gainful employment.

The Veteran's left ankle DJD and instability are each rated at 20 percent, with the instability issue being granted. The rating for DJD remains denied.

The Veteran's claims for increased disability evaluations for his right ankle sprain with arthritis and right foot arthritis with metatarsalgia have been remanded by the Board due to additional development being required.

The Board has granted the Veteran's petition to reopen his claim of service connection for a left ankle condition and has determined that he is entitled to service connection based on chronicity of symptoms since service. The Board found credible evidence of in-service injury and ongoing symptomatology, leading to a grant of service connection.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to errors in obtaining clarification of the Veteran's dates of service and for new medical opinions regarding the etiology of her claimed conditions.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including persistent depressive disorder with anxious distress, lumbar spine degenerative arthritis, sciatic radiculopathy of the bilateral lower extremities, chronic left ankle sprain, left knee strain, tinnitus, and left hand eczema with resolved cellulitis, do not preclude him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation.

The Veteran's appeals for increased evaluations of her service-connected left knee disabilities are being remanded due to a pre-decisional duty-to-assist error in the previous VA examination.

The Board has decided to remand the claims for anxiety/depression, bradycardia, hearing loss, left knee disability, low back disability, migraines, right ankle disability, and tinnitus due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error. The AOJ should provide an examination for the Appellant's bradycardia.

The Board has granted service connection for left wrist tenosynovitis and right ankle strain, finding that these conditions are related to active service.,Service connection was denied for obstructive sleep apnea and a right shoulder disability due to the lack of evidence showing current disabilities or their relationship to active service.

The Veteran's service-connected right foot and ankle conditions prevented him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation from September 1, 2011, to January 24, 2022. The Board granted an extraschedular TDIU for this period.

The Board has remanded the claims for higher ratings for lumbosacral strain, right ankle strain, and left ankle strain due to unclear functional loss during examinations.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for TBI and right ankle disabilities due to inadequate VA examinations. The appeals need to be addressed with new VA examinations.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to incomplete records and inadequate examination reports. The Veteran is required to have his complete service medical and personnel records associated with his file, including those from his deployment in Cuba. A new VA mental disorders and spine examinations are needed to address the issues of PTSD, anxiety disorder, lumbar spine disability, knee disabilities, and ankle disability.

The Board has granted service connection for a right ankle strain, finding that the Veteran's current condition is related to an in-service injury during a ruck march.

The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's cervical spine, lumbar spine, bilateral shoulder, bilateral hip, left knee, and left ankle disabilities. The claims are remanded to consider a right ankle disability.

The Board has granted service connection for migraine headaches, obstructive sleep apnea, and bilateral restless leg syndrome as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The Veteran's right ankle disability is rated at a 20 percent rating, effective from the date of this decision.

The Veteran's PTSD with alcohol use disorder and cannabis use was granted an initial evaluation of 70 percent. Other service connection claims were denied or remanded.

The Board has dismissed the claims for service connection for left ankle and right hand rheumatoid arthritis as they were already pending at the AOJ.

The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for right and left ankle disabilities due to insufficient medical opinion regarding the etiology of these conditions.