Ankle decisions — 2025

The Board remands the claims for service connection for hypertension, left and right ankle disabilities, and left and right foot disabilities to obtain additional medical opinions addressing secondary service connection.

The Board remands the claim for a left ankle disorder to correct pre-decisional duty to assist errors, specifically due to an inadequate medical opinion regarding the nature and etiology of the Veteran's condition.

The Board remands the claims for service connection of various conditions to correct duty to assist errors that occurred prior to the October 2021 rating decision and the July 2022 HLR rating decision on appeal.

The Board granted service connection for a left knee, right knee, left ankle, right ankle, back, and tinnitus disabilities. Service connection was also granted for prostate cancer and vocal cord cancer due to exposure to jet fuel, fumes, and smoke. An acquired psychiatric disorder was granted as secondary to the Veteran's orthopedic conditions.

The Board granted service connection for a neck condition, finding it to be related to the Veteran's military service. The claims for bilateral ankle and hip conditions were remanded for further development.

The Board denied service connection for lumbosacral, right knee, right hip, and right ankle conditions as they were not shown to be related to the Veteran's active duty or a service-connected disability.

The Board granted a separate 10 percent rating for joint instability due to residuals of left knee ACL repair and TDIU prior to March 27, 2019, while dismissing the appeals for increased ratings for left ankle degenerative arthritis and left knee meniscal strain.

The Board granted service connection for a right ankle disability, diagnosed as post-traumatic arthritis and lateral collateral chronic/recurrent sprain, based on the evidence showing that the Veteran's current disability was incurred in or caused by active service.

The Board remands the issues of entitlement to service connection for a bilateral hearing loss disability and an increased evaluation for the service-connected left ankle disability, as well as the issue of entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability.

The Board remands the claims for service connection for a left index finger, lumbar spine, and right foot/ankle disability due to inadequate VA examinations.

The Board denied service connection for all the conditions listed as there was no evidence to support a finding that any of these conditions were related to the Veteran's active military service.

The Board denied service connection for chronic bronchitis, chronic sinusitis, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), bowel inconsistency, restrictive food intake disorder, a bilateral ankle condition, a neck disorder, and a heart disorder as the evidence does not reflect that the Veteran has a current diagnosis of these disorders. The claim for PTSD due to military sexual trauma was denied based on the lack of a current diagnosis.

The Board remands the claims for service connection for hernia, right ankle disorder, and left ankle disorder to obtain additional medical evidence.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his bilateral knee and ankle conditions, as well as scars, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the current level of disability.

The Veteran was granted an effective date of May 21, 2020, for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) due to his service-connected disabilities.

The Board denied the restoration of a 30 percent evaluation for a post-operative bilateral inguinal hernia and granted a 10 percent rating for migraine headaches, while denying increased ratings for other conditions.

The Board remands the claims for service connection for GERD with hiatal hernia and hypertension, as new and relevant evidence has been received. The claims for allergic rhinitis, sinus condition, ankle gout, recurrent left shoulder dislocation, and right knee disability are denied as no new and relevant evidence was submitted.

The veteran withdrew the appeal for all issues, and the Board has no jurisdiction to review the appeal.

The Board denied service connection for left elbow pain, left hand arthritis, right hip pain, left knee pain, right knee pain, left hip pain, right elbow pain, and right hand arthritis. However, the claim for a right ankle condition was granted.

The Board denied service connection for a respiratory condition, left ankle condition, and left foot plantar fasciitis as the evidence did not support current disabilities or a nexus to service. The claims for migraines headaches and allergic rhinitis were remanded for further development.