Ankle Board decisions

The Veteran's service connection claims for a right leg disorder, right knee disorder, left knee disorder, left hip disorder, and low back disorder have been denied. The Board found no current diagnosis of a right leg disorder.

The Board found that the Veteran's right ankle, left ankle, and bilateral foot and heel disorders are not related to service.,There is no evidence of a current disability within one year post-service discharge for any of these conditions.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's service-connected right ankle strain reflects symptomatology that more nearly approximates moderate limited motion of the right ankle, warranting a 10 percent disability rating.

The Veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded due to inadequate VA examination reports and incomplete opinions. The Veteran is seeking service connection for asthma and a chronic disability involving the knees and ankles, which he believes were caused by his military service in the Persian Gulf.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including a VA examination to assess the severity of his service-connected lumbosacral spine disability and further development on claims for increased ratings for left ankle disability and TDIU.

The Veteran's cervical spine disorder is currently rated at 20 percent, but the Board finds that a higher rating is not warranted based on the evidence of record.,The Veteran's right ankle disorder is currently rated at 10 percent and the Board finds that a higher rating is not warranted based on the evidence of record.

The Veteran's right ankle disability, characterized by pain and functional loss but without ankylosis or other severe impairment, is not rated higher than the current 10 percent. The TDIU claim was also denied as the Veteran does not have a disability level that precludes substantially gainful employment.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional examinations and development of the claims due to inconsistencies in the medical evidence, including a discrepancy between the findings from his VA examination and recent radiology reports.

The Board has found that the Veteran's claims of service connection for various disabilities, including a chronic low back and cervical spine disability, bilateral shoulder arthritis, residuals of prostate cancer, erectile dysfunction, bilateral ankle arthritis, right knee arthritis, and right hip arthritis, have not been substantiated by the evidence of record. The preponderance of evidence does not support a finding that these conditions had onset during active service or are otherwise related to such service.

The Veteran's claims for increased disability ratings and TDIU have been denied. The left ankle and left knee disabilities are currently rated as 20 percent disabling, which is the maximum schedular rating available under VA regulations.

The Board has reopened the Veteran's claims for service connection and granted them, finding that new and material evidence was received. Service connection is established for bilateral pes planus, left ankle degenerative arthritis, right and left foot equinus deformities, and bilateral plantar fasciitis. Rheumatoid arthritis is not service connected.

The Veteran meets the schedular requirement for a TDIU effective from June 3, 2014, and his service-connected disabilities render him unable to obtain or maintain substantially gainful employment.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a current diagnosis of degenerative arthritis in either ankle or lumbar spine, and there is no evidence linking these conditions to service. The COPD claim was denied as well.

The Veteran's claims for service connection have been granted, with the exception of those related to urinary incontinence and residuals of TBI. The remaining conditions are found to be directly related to his military service.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a left foot disability and an increased rating for his left ankle disability. The Veteran was granted a 20 percent rating for his left ankle disability effective June 19, 2007, and a 30 percent rating effective February 1, 2012.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including skin disease, right shoulder disorder, elbow disorder, low back disorder, knee disorders, left ankle disorder, foot disorders, pulmonary disorder, and heart disorder. The decision found that new evidence did not reopen the claim of skin disease, and that none of the other conditions were related to service or a pre-existing disability.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's claimed low back, bilateral hip, left knee, and bilateral ankle disabilities are not caused or aggravated by his service-connected right knee disability.

The Veteran's basic eligibility for specially adapted housing was denied as he does not meet the criteria due to his service-connected disabilities. The case is remanded for scheduling a videoconference hearing on the issue of entitlement to automobile and adaptive equipment or adaptive equipment only.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded due to the need for additional development, including obtaining results of an esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) and other relevant VA treatment records. The right ankle claim may require a medical opinion regarding whether the foot condition stems from the same injury as the ankle condition.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's right ankle condition is related to an in-service fracture and therefore grants service connection for this condition.