Ankle Board decisions

The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for right knee degenerative arthritis is before the Board.,The Veteran seeks service connection for a cervical spine disability and a left knee disability, to include as secondary to his right knee disability. He also seeks service connection for a right ankle disability and bilateral foot disabilities. Finally, he seeks service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder is before the Board. The Veteran contends that his current psychiatric symptoms are related to his time in service.,The Veteran seeks service connection for a cervical spine disability and a left knee disability, to include as secondary to his right knee disability. He also seeks service connection for a right ankle disability and bilateral foot disabilities. Finally, he seeks an increased rating for his right knee degenerative arthritis.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for a cervical spine disability is before the Board. The Veteran contends that his current psychiatric symptoms are related to his time in service.,The Veteran seeks service connection for a cervical spine disability and a left knee disability, to include as secondary to his right knee disability. He also seeks service connection for a right ankle disability and bilateral foot disabilities. Finally, he seeks an increased rating for his right knee degenerative arthritis.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including a VA examination and readjudication of the claims.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining VA treatment records and scheduling the Veteran for appropriate VA examinations to address the nature and etiology of his claimed disabilities.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current left ankle, left knee, and right knee disabilities are not related to his military service. The evidence does not support a finding of chronicity or secondary service connection.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development to determine the current severity of his service-connected left shoulder impingement syndrome, right ankle degenerative joint disease, and left ankle sprain and degenerative changes.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for special monthly compensation (SMC) at the housebound rate prior to June 11, 2012, as he did not have a single service-connected disability rated at 100% or be permanently housebound due to service-connected disabilities.

The Veteran's right ankle disability, including gout, was incurred in active service. The Board finds the evidence at least as not equally balanced and grants service connection for a right ankle disability.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his right and left ankle disabilities, as well as a new foot disability claim, were all granted. The hearing loss claim was reduced to zero percent effective September 1, 2015.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded due to incomplete service personnel and medical records, which may affect his eligibility for VA home loan guaranty benefits.

The Board has determined that the appellant does not have current diagnoses of residuals of a fractured cheek bone or sprained ankle, and thus, service connection for these conditions cannot be established.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral ankle disability and obesity are not service connected, with no evidence linking these conditions to his military service or a service-connected condition.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities (migraines and right ankle disability) meet the schedular criteria for a TDIU effective February 27, 2009. The Board also found that he was unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment prior to this date due to his migraines.

The Veteran's application for nonservice-connected pension benefits was denied as he did not meet the basic eligibility requirements due to lack of evidence showing qualifying income and net worth, and medical evidence did not show his non-service connected conditions were severe enough to prevent him from securing and following a substantially gainful occupation.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral foot condition, right leg condition, and right ankle condition are not service-connected. The evidence does not support a finding of in-service injury or disease for any of these conditions.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's right and left ankle disorders are not related to service, as there is no evidence of an in-service injury or disease. The VA examiner opined that the current ankle conditions were not incurred during military service.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development to address the etiology of his right shoulder arthritis and to issue a statement of the case regarding increased evaluation for left ankle strain, service connection for right knee condition, left knee condition, right hip condition, left hip condition, and right ankle condition.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's left ankle ankylosis does not meet or approximate the criteria for a rating in excess of 30 percent under any applicable diagnostic code.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities prevent him from achieving a vocational goal as an automotive supervisor, and the Board finds that achievement of such a goal is not reasonably feasible.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for a back disorder claimed as a Tarlov cyst is being reopened due to the submission of new and material evidence.,The Veteran has not yet been evaluated for her left ankle disorder. A VA examination will be scheduled to determine if she has a current diagnosis and whether it is related to service.,A VA psychiatric examination will be conducted to address the nature and etiology of the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorders, including PTSD due to military sexual trauma (MST), depression, and anxiety.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for her seizure disorder will be evaluated with consideration given to whether it was aggravated by service. A VA examination will be scheduled to determine if this is the case.,A VA examination will be conducted to determine the nature of the Veteran's insomnia and its relationship to any diagnosed psychiatric disorders.

The Veteran withdrew their appeals for the rating higher than 20 percent for left ankle tendonitis with traumatic arthritis and residuals of a right ankle fracture with traumatic arthritis.