Ankle decisions — 2024

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for lumbosacral strain and right ankle lateral collateral sprain, finding that the evidence does not support a causal relationship between these conditions and his in-service injuries.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for right and left ankle disabilities, finding that there is no evidence of a current disability or in-service injury related to these conditions.

The Board denied service connection for left ankle and left knee disabilities, finding that there was no evidence of a current disability related to service or service-connected sleep apnea.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for depression is denied as there is no evidence of a current diagnosis or etiology related to his military service.,For the left ankle disability, the Veteran's claim is remanded due to insufficient evidence regarding whether he has arthritis and its severity.

The Board remands the issues of service connection for bilateral knee, elbow, and ankle disabilities, as well as a bilateral hearing loss disability, due to inadequate medical evidence.

The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete VA treatment records and the need for addendum opinions regarding the Veteran's left ankle disability.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities have not prevented him from securing and following a substantially gainful occupation throughout the appeal period.

The Board has remanded the cases due to inadequate reasoning in previous decisions and a need for new opinions regarding the etiology of the Veteran's knee and ankle conditions.

The Board has decided to remand the claims for service connection for right knee, left knee, right ankle, and degenerative arthritis of the thoracolumbar spine. Further development is needed as the VA opinions provided are inadequate.

The Board of Veterans' Appeals remands the claims for service connection for various disabilities, including a right foot disability, left foot disability, right knee disability, left ankle disability, neck disability, sinusitis, and type II diabetes mellitus, to obtain private treatment records.

The Board denied service connection for right ankle and right knee strain due to a lack of current disability and insufficient evidence linking the conditions to service.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, acquired psychiatric disorder (major depressive disorder), right hip disorder, right knee disorder, and right ankle disorder due to insufficient evidence.,Service connection will be granted if there is a current disability, an in-service injury or disease, and a nexus between the two.

The Veteran's right ankle disability, characterized by lateral collateral ligament sprain and posttraumatic arthritis with leg edema and atypical varicosities, is productive of marked limitation of motion. The Board has granted a 20 percent rating for this condition.

The Board has granted an effective date of January 11, 2020 for the award of service connection for the Veteran's right ankle condition. The decision is based on the Veteran's continuous pursuit of his claim and the inclusion of the right ankle disability within the scope of the original claim.

The Board has denied an evaluation in excess of 10 percent for a painful scar of the lower lumbar spine, as there is only one such scar and it does not meet the criteria for a higher rating.

The Veteran's tinnitus is granted as service connection due to the evidence being at least in approximate balance that the Veteran's tinnitus began during military service and has been continuous since then.,Service connection for bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome (left and right) is denied because there is no current diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome or any other disorder of the wrists resulting in functional impairment.,Service connection for bilateral ankle osteoarthritis (left and right) is remanded as VA examination was not provided to address the Veteran's lay reports of chronic ankle pain that began in service and has continued since then.,Service connection for left knee osteoarthritis is granted due to the evidence being at least in approximate balance that the Veteran's left knee osteoarthritis had onset during active service, manifested within one year of separation from active service (by December 1998), or was otherwise caused by his reports of chronic knee pain due to active service.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims of service connection for right and left ankle pain, as well as his acquired psychiatric disorder (including PTSD, depression, stimulant use, and cannabis use disorder), due to a failure to consider new evidence in the original decision.

The Veteran's claims for service connection and increased ratings are being remanded due to the need to obtain additional medical records, including STRs from his National Guard service. The Veteran is also seeking a higher rating for gastritis and an examination is required to determine the nature and etiology of all foot disorders, hepatitis C, and psychiatric disorders.

The Veteran's claim for a rating in excess of 20 percent for his left ankle disability is denied as the evidence does not meet the criteria for a higher rating under any applicable diagnostic code.

The Board has determined that there was a pre-decisional duty to assist error and the Veteran's bilateral foot disabilities and right ankle disability may be secondary to her service-connected psychiatric disability and left ankle disability, with obesity as an intermediate step. The case is remanded for further examination and opinion.