Ankle decisions — 2024

The Board has denied service connection for high cholesterol, sciatica prior to July 8, 2022, hypertension (claimed as high blood pressure), TMJ, GERD, CFS, bilateral ankle disabilities, tinnitus, headaches prior to December 29, 2023, insomnia with unrestful sleep, and a mental health disorder. The claims are being remanded for further development.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for right knee, left knee, right foot, left foot, right hip, and left hip disabilities due to a lack of adequate medical opinions addressing causation and aggravation.

The Board has denied service connection for various conditions including bilateral vision loss, hearing loss, psychiatric disorders, tinnitus, right neck lesion, shoulder disabilities, carpal tunnel syndrome and wrist pain, lumbar spine disability, colon disability with associated abdominal scar, and foot disabilities. The reasons given include lack of evidence showing the conditions were present during or within one year after service, no credible link to service, and failure to show continuity of symptoms.

The Board has remanded the cases for further development and an opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's current right ankle LCL sprain, cervical strain, and low back disability. The claims are currently pending.

The Veteran's right ankle strain is being remanded due to inadequate VA opinion regarding the etiology and aggravation of his disability. The AOJ must obtain an addendum opinion addressing obesity as an intermediate step, service-connected depression and anxiety causing or aggravating obesity, and whether obesity caused or aggravated the right ankle strain.

The Veteran's appeal for a higher disability rating for left ankle fracture and residuals has been dismissed due to the withdrawal of the appeal by the Veteran's authorized representative.

The Board has found the reduction in disability rating for left ankle sprain with impingement syndrome from 20 percent to 10 percent was improper and has ordered a remand to consider whether the Veteran is entitled to a higher rating.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for tinnitus is granted. The claims for service connection for left ankle disorder, right ankle disorder, and low back disorder are remanded due to a duty-to-assist error. The claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder remains pending.

The Board has remanded the claims for left, right ankle disabilities and right hip disability due to insufficient evidence in the May 2022 rating decision. The Veteran asserts that his current ankle and hip disabilities are secondary to service-connected knee disabilities.

The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and right ankle pain. The claimant's private medical records showed diagnoses but no in-service events or injuries that could be linked to these conditions.,The Board also denied secondary service connection for a left ankle condition as it was not granted primary service connection for the right ankle pain.

The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including PTSD and psychiatric disorders, cervical spine disorder, back disorder, elbow disorders, wrist disorders, shoulder disorders, hip disorders, ankle disorders, and foot disorders. The decision was based on the lack of evidence showing a direct link between these conditions and military service.

The Veteran's claims for residuals of a right rib fracture and dermatophytosis (claimed as eczema) have been granted. Claims for hyperlipidemia, elevated liver enzymes, posttraumatic stress disorder, alopecia totalis, iliotibial band syndrome of the left knee, cervical spine disability, voiding dysfunction, benign neoplasm of the skin, right ankle disability, right elbow disability, right hip disability, left hip disability, right shoulder disability, and left shoulder disability have been denied. The Veteran's claims for radiculopathy of the right lower extremity and left lower extremity secondary to service-connected spinal stenosis are remanded.

The Board dismissed the appeals for a rating in excess of 10 percent for eczema with condyloma acuminatum, penile shaft; entitlement to service connection for a left ankle disability; and entitlement to a rating in excess of 50 percent for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The Veteran withdrew his appeal regarding service connection for various conditions and revisions to evaluations. The Board dismissed the appeal as a result.

The Veteran's right knee disabilities were granted service connection and an increased rating. Other conditions, including IBS, bilateral hip disabilities, left knee disabilities, and hypothyroidism, received increased ratings.

The Veteran's claim for a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss has been denied. The claims for increased ratings of the left ankle, right knee, left knee, and right ligament conditions have been remanded.

Your claim for service connection for right ankle condition has been fully granted in a February 2024 rating decision, and the appeal is dismissed.

The Board has granted service connection for a right ankle sprain, finding that the Veteran's continuous symptoms since his initial injury in service are related to his military service.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for left ankle traumatic arthritis is being remanded due to a duty-to-assist error in the prior VA examination. The examiner must provide an opinion regarding whether the increase in severity of the Veteran's left ankle disability was due to natural progression and address his report about marching impact.

The Board has denied service connection for PTSD, anxiety, depression, coronary artery disease secondary to psychiatric disability, chronic right ankle pain, chronic left ankle pain, and chronic right knee pain as there is no current evidence of a diagnosed condition.,The Veteran's claims were based on his belief that he developed these conditions during active duty. However, the Board found insufficient medical evidence to support this claim.