Ankle decisions — 2025

The Board granted a 30 percent rating for left ankle osteoarthritis from June 25, 2021, and a separate 10 percent rating for left ankle instability.

The Board remands all claims for service connection due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error and the need for additional medical opinions.

The Board denied service connection for lumbosacral strain, a neck condition, a left shoulder condition, and a right ankle condition as the evidence did not support a finding that any of these conditions were related to the Veteran's active military service.

The Board granted the Veteran's claim for an annual clothing allowance for 2021 for a left ankle brace but denied claims for right leg and skin medication.

The Board granted an initial 10 percent rating for the Veteran's right knee, right ankle, and left ankle disabilities. The service connection claim for obstructive sleep apnea was remanded.

The appeal for eligibility for benefits under the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA's) Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers is remanded due to an AOJ error in satisfying a regulatory and statutory duty.

The Board denied service connection for a bilateral ear disorder and remanded the remaining issues for further development.

The Board granted service connection for tinnitus and denied service connection for GERD, right ankle pain, athlete's foot, low back strain, right wrist condition, asthma, atopic dermatitis, and right pinky finger strain.

The Board remands the claims for service connection for various conditions, including atrial fibrillation and irritable bowel syndrome, due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error in not scheduling VA examinations when the Veteran was available.

The Board granted service connection for right ear hearing loss and denied it for left ear hearing loss, while remanding claims for right ankle disability, right knee disability, and back disability.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a right ankle disability, finding that it is less likely than not related to his active-duty service and was not caused or aggravated by his service-connected left ankle disability.

The Board denied service connection for a left foot, left ankle, right foot, right knee, and neck disabilities, sinusitis, and type II diabetes mellitus as there was no medical evidence of a nexus between the claimed conditions and active service or a service-connected disability.

The Board denied service connection for a right knee disorder and an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for a right ankle disability, as the evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were related to the Veteran's military service.

The Board remands the claim for a right ankle disability to obtain an addendum medical opinion that adequately addresses the Veteran's lay statements regarding continuous or recurrent symptoms since service.

The Board granted service connection for left and right knee strains, as well as a lumbosacral spine disability, secondary to the Veteran's service-connected hip early osteoarthrosis. The initial rating of 40 percent was assigned for the lumbosacral spine disability.

The Board denied service connection for residuals of a TBI, a right ankle condition, and a back condition due to the lack of evidence supporting current disabilities or in-service incurrences.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for a rating in excess of 20 percent for avulsion fracture of left ankle, status post left ankle sprain.

The Board granted service connection for a right ankle disability as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected right foot disability and arthritis, dismissed entitlement to service connection for right foot pain, denied service connection for left foot bone spurs and left foot pain as secondary to the Veteran's knee disability, and remanded claims for cervical radiculopathy and neck pain.

The Board denied service connection for a right ankle disability as the condition clearly and unmistakably preexisted the Veteran's active-duty service and was not permanently worsened beyond its natural progression by such service.

The Board denied a rating in excess of 30 percent for bilateral pes planus and a rating in excess of 20 percent for left ankle strain, but restored the 20 percent rating for left ankle strain effective November 15, 2023. The claim for special monthly compensation based on loss of use of a creative organ was dismissed.