Ankle decisions — 2024

The Veteran withdrew his appeals regarding sleep apnea, anxiety condition, ringing in ears, and right ankle condition.

The Veteran's service-connected right ankle disability does not meet the eligibility criteria for financial assistance in purchasing an automobile or adaptive equipment, as he does not have anatomical loss of use of his feet.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for right and left ankle tendonitis, as well as service connection for a left hip joint condition, were denied.,There is no evidence of in-service injury or disease that would support the Veteran's claims.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for left and right ankle disabilities due to lack of new and relevant evidence.

The Board has remanded the claims for a right shoulder disability, left shoulder disability, right knee disability, and left knee disability due to insufficient evidence.,The Veteran's service treatment records do not show any complaints or diagnoses related to her claimed hip, shoulder, knee, and ankle disabilities. She reported symptoms after service but no medical evaluations were provided.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for left and right ankle conditions, finding no current disability and insufficient evidence to establish a nexus between any in-service injury or disease and the claimed disabilities.

The Board has determined that the claims for right and left knee disabilities, as well as right and left ankle disabilities, should be remanded due to a duty to assist error. Specifically, efforts are needed to obtain records from SSA and the private physician who treated the Veteran's injuries.

The Board has found that the appellant does not have a current disability for which service connection can be granted, including for heart conditions, acquired psychiatric disorders (anxiety and depression), hypertension, cervical spine condition, bilateral shoulder conditions, elbow conditions, wrist conditions, hip conditions, knee conditions, ankle conditions, or foot conditions. The claims are being remanded to obtain appropriate medical examinations and opinions.,The Board has found that the appellant does not have a current disability for which service connection can be granted, including for heart conditions, acquired psychiatric disorders (anxiety and depression), hypertension, cervical spine condition, bilateral shoulder conditions, elbow conditions, wrist conditions, hip conditions, knee conditions, ankle conditions, or foot conditions. The claims are being remanded to obtain appropriate medical examinations and opinions.

The Veteran's claim for bilateral hearing loss is denied as there is no evidence of a current disability meeting the criteria for VA purposes.,Service connection for hepatitis is denied due to lack of evidence showing a currently disabling condition.

The Veteran withdrew his appeals of the claims for service connection for bilateral ankle and knee pain, as well as lower thoracic pain.

The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for his right ankle condition is remanded due to missed scheduled VA examinations and lack of proper notice. The Board will reschedule the Veteran for a VA examination to determine the current severity of his service-connected right ankle condition.

The Veteran withdrew his appeal for service connection of a right ankle condition before the Board could make a decision.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for an initial increased rating in excess of 10 percent for his left ankle disability, finding that the evidence does not support a higher rating based on limitation of motion or functional loss.

The Veteran withdrew his appeal in its entirety before the Board could make a decision, thus the appeal is dismissed.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection of a left ankle disability due to lack of current diagnosis and insufficient functional impairment.

The Veteran's appeal for increased ratings on ten issues has been dismissed due to his withdrawal of the appeal.

The Veteran's right foot disability is granted with a 20% rating. The claims for higher initial ratings for cerebellar tonsillar ectopia, service connection for acute strain of the right ankle, and service connection for shingles are REMANDED.

The Veteran's left ankle disability and obstructive sleep apnea are remanded due to duty-to-assist errors. The VA will obtain medical records for the Veteran's ankle ligament repair, provide a new opinion on the etiology of his left ankle disability, and address whether his service-connected lumbar spine disability could have contributed to his obesity, which may be an intermediate step in establishing secondary service connection for sleep apnea.

The Veteran's rhinitis is not rated higher than the current 10 percent rating.,A 40 percent rating for left sciatic nerve disability is granted. The Veteran's right ankle and right knee conditions are remanded to determine if they are secondary to service-connected disabilities, and a sleep apnea claim is also remanded.,The Veteran's right ankle condition may be related to his service-connected left ankle condition, but further examination is needed to confirm this. His right knee condition is also remanded for similar reasons.,His right knee condition may be related to his service-connected left knee condition, and a sleep apnea claim is also remanded.,The Veteran's sleep apnea may be related to his service-connected rhinitis, but further examination is needed to confirm this.

The Veteran's appeal for an increased rating for left ankle residuals has been withdrawn by his attorney, resulting in the dismissal of this case.