Ankle Board decisions

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for a local hearing with the Decision Review Officer (DRO). The issues of entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder and right ankle disability are pending.

The Veteran's initial compensable rating for residuals of a right ankle fracture was granted, but service connection for sleep apnea and colorectal cancer was denied.

The Board has remanded the appeal due to additional evidence received since April 2012, and a videoconference hearing is required.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's cervical spine disability is related to his active service and grants this claim.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current left and right ankle disabilities are related to his service, with reasonable doubt resolved in favor of the Veteran. As such, the claims for service connection have been granted.

The Veteran has been granted service connection for a left ankle disability and a left knee disability, both considered presumptive due to undiagnosed illness related to her service in the Southwest Asia Theater of operations during the Gulf War.

The Veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded due to the need for additional examination and medical opinions.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for a right knee disorder, right shoulder disorder, and right ankle disorder. The evidence did not support finding that these conditions were incurred or aggravated by service.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his left ankle sprain and chronic residuals of a fracture of the left little finger, middle phalanx.

The Veteran's osteoarthritis of the ankles results in occasional incapacitating exacerbations, warranting a disability rating of 20 percent.

The Veteran's left ankle disability is currently rated as 20% disabling, and the Board finds that a higher rating is not warranted. The Veteran was also found to be unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment prior to June 16, 2009 due to his service-connected left ankle disability.

The Board found no evidence of a current bilateral ankle disability and denied the Veteran's claim for service connection.

The Board has determined that a new examination is needed for the Veteran's left ankle and right middle finger disabilities due to inadequate opinions in previous examinations. The appeal will be remanded for these purposes.

The Board found no evidence to support the Veteran's claims for service connection for a right ankle injury and lung disorder, including COPD. The VA examiners concluded that there was insufficient medical evidence to link these conditions to service or any other relevant factors.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current right and left ankle disabilities are directly related to an in-service parachute accident, resulting in service connection for both conditions.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including a new VA examination to assess the severity of his right ankle disability and an opinion on whether his current right knee disability is secondary to his service-connected right ankle disability.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development, including a new VA examination to assess the severity of his left ankle disability and opinions regarding secondary service connection for his left knee disorder and bilateral hip disorder.

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

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining records from Chelsea Naval Hospital and scheduling VA examinations to determine the current nature of any right knee and ankle disabilities. The Veteran's claims will be readjudicated after this additional development.

The Veteran's claim for reimbursement of private medical expenses incurred on October 6, 2015 was denied as the condition did not qualify as a medical emergency and therefore does not meet the criteria for reimbursement under VA regulations.