Ankle decisions — 2024

The Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including high cholesterol, snoring, fatigue, insomnia, hearing loss, chronic left hip pain, and cerumen impaction (claimed as chronic ear infection), have been denied. The Board has also remanded several other issues related to knee conditions, shoulder conditions, migraine headaches, and overactive bladder.

The Board has dismissed all appeals regarding the Veteran's claims for service connection for arthritis of the right ankle, left ankle, left knee, and right knee.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a leg disability, finding that there is no current evidence of a leg disability or related condition.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to incomplete STRs and a need for additional development, including obtaining missing records from active duty service.

The Board has granted service connection for right ankle lateral collateral ligament sprain, right knee strain, and left knee strain. The Veteran's current disabilities are in equipoise with respect to their relation to service.,Service connection is also granted for migraine headaches, including migraine variants, due to exposure to burn pits during service.

The Board has denied a rating in excess of 10 percent for the Veteran's right ankle sprain, finding that the medical evidence does not support such an increase.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for left ear hearing loss, right ankle disability, and left ankle disability have been denied. The Board has also remanded the Veteran's claims for sleep apnea (OSA), acquired psychiatric disability including PTSD and depression, right foot disability, and left foot disability.,For his right ear hearing loss, the Veteran was not granted a compensable rating.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for various elbow, wrist, hip, knee, and ankle disabilities due to her total abdominal hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy. The appeals are being remanded.

The Veteran's TDIU claim is dismissed because he is already receiving a combined schedular rating of 100% for his service-connected disabilities, which means he does not have any single disability rated as totally disabling and thus does not meet the criteria for SMC at the housebound rate.

The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's left ankle disability, finding that it is proximately due to his already service-connected left lower extremity radiculopathy.

The Board has decided to remand the claims for service connection of residuals of left ankle injury and residuals of left shoulder rotator cuff injury due to insufficient medical opinions addressing continuity of symptoms.

The Veteran's claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability prior to October 1, 2015 is remanded due to the failure to consider evidence of Rice TDIU and refer it to VA's Director of Compensation Service for extraschedular consideration.

The Board has granted a 10 percent rating for the Veteran's right knee scar. The left ankle sprain issue is remanded due to an inadequate VA examination.

The Veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded due to the need for additional medical examinations and opinions regarding his ankle, knee, cold injury residuals, sciatica, TBI, and bilateral eye disorders. The RO will obtain any missing records from his service period in Germany and conduct further evaluations.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's claims for service connection of various knee and ankle disabilities, as well as a left lower extremity sciatic nerve disability, require further examination to determine their etiology. The case is being remanded for this purpose.

The Veteran's appeal for a higher rating for recurrent right ankle sprains has been denied as the evidence does not support a rating in excess of 10 percent.,The Veteran's appeal for a compensable rating for his right ankle surgical scar has also been denied due to the scar measuring less than 144 square inches and not associated with underlying soft tissue damage.,The Veteran's PTSD claim is remanded as there was an error in failing to consider updated evidence showing suicidal ideation.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection were granted, with effective dates ranging from December 4, 2018 to March 25, 2019. The right ankle sprain received a 20% rating, bilateral knee disabilities (right and left) each received a 20% rating, and hypertension was rated at 20%. Service connection for other specified trauma and stressor related disorder was granted effective from November 20, 2018.

The Board dismissed the Veteran's appeal regarding a compensable rating for right ear hearing loss. The Board granted service connection for left knee, right knee, left ankle, and right ankle disabilities.

The Veteran's right knee condition is rated at 30 percent, which does not meet the criteria for a higher rating due to lack of severe painful motion or weakness.,The Veteran's right ankle condition is rated at 20 percent, which also does not meet the criteria for a higher rating due to lack of severe painful motion or weakness.

The Board has found new and relevant evidence for the claims of service connection for lumbar spine disability, bilateral ankle disabilities, and bilateral knee disabilities. These issues are being remanded to allow for further review.