Ankle decisions — 2026

The Board has decided to remand the claims of service connection for a back disability and a left ankle disability due to insufficient medical opinions regarding whether these disabilities are secondary to the Veteran's service-connected left knee disability.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's left ankle osteoarthritis without medication. The claim will be returned for further evaluation and a supplemental opinion from a clinician.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and an earlier effective date were remanded due to incomplete or unclear records, particularly regarding the timing of his service connection requests.

The Veteran withdrew all appeals related to his service connection claims for various conditions, including sinusitis allergies, bilateral ankle pain, bilateral knee pain, and heat sensitive low tolerance. The appeal is dismissed as a result.

The Board denied service connection for a right knee disability, left knee disability, and right ankle disability due to lack of evidence showing these conditions began during or are related to active service.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for various knee, ankle, lumbar spine, and chest conditions due to lack of new and relevant evidence submitted within one year of the prior final denial.

The Board has granted service connection for left ankle gout, right ankle gout, left knee gout, left wrist gout, and right wrist gout. The Veteran's claim for right knee gout was incorporated into an already service-connected right knee disability.

The Veteran's claim for reimbursement of medical expenses incurred at Garrett Regional Medical Center on December 28, 2019 is granted. The Board found the claim timely filed and that the Veteran met all requirements under 38 U.S.C. § 1725.

The Veteran's appeals for service connection were dismissed as the claims have been fully granted with effective dates assigned.

The Veteran's right ankle arthritis is granted, but the left ankle arthritis claim is remanded due to a duty-to-assist error.

The Veteran's claim for multiple clothing allowances for the calendar year 2023 is remanded due to missing records. The AOJ needs to reconstruct and associate all relevant documents with the claims file.

The Veteran's initial rating for a left ankle lateral collateral ligament sprain, chronic/recurrent tendinopathy, tendinitis, and old avulsion fracture is denied. A separate 10 percent rating for left ankle instability is granted.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for left ankle and lumbosacral spine disabilities were denied as the evidence did not meet the criteria for higher disability ratings under applicable VA rating criteria.

The Board denied service connection for chronic sinusitis, residuals of a left ankle sprain, and an initial compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss. The Veteran's current diagnoses do not meet the criteria for these conditions.

The Veteran's hypertension is granted a 20 percent rating, and her bilateral ankle and knee disabilities are granted service connection.,However, the Board has determined that additional evidence is needed to properly evaluate the Veteran's left knee disability, right knee disability, and knee instability.

The Veteran's claims for a compensable disability rating for tinea pedis, service connection for right hip and left hip trochanteric pain syndrome, right ankle sprain, and left ankle strain are remanded due to inadequate examination records and conflicting medical opinions.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for back, neck, left knee, and right ankle disabilities due to a lack of current disability. The claim for migraine headaches is remanded for an addendum VA opinion regarding whether the condition clearly and unmistakably preexisted service.

The Veteran's claims for increased disability ratings for his right ankle and lumbar spine disabilities are being remanded due to the inadequacy of the May 2022 VA examination reports. The Board will schedule the Veteran for additional examinations to address these issues.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to a duty to assist error, requiring another VA examination for nerve conditions.

The Board denied a rating higher than 10 percent for right ankle instability, finding that the evidence did not meet the criteria for a higher rating based on limited motion.