Ankle Board decisions

The Board has determined that the Veteran's right and left ankle disabilities are related to his active service.,Service connection is granted for a right ankle disability, specifically posterior tibialis tendinitis, Achilles tendonitis, meniscoid lesion, and lateral collateral ligament sprain.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for further development due to inadequacies in the adjudication, including addressing whether his symptoms are manifestations of a medically unexplained chronic multisymptom illness and obtaining clarifying opinions regarding service connection.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded due to the need for additional development and a new hearing. The issues of increased rating for a fractured right ankle and TDIU are still pending.

The Board has remanded the appeal for further development due to inadequate VA examination reports and issues are inextricably intertwined.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's appeal requires additional development and remand, including for a VA examination to determine if his depression is related to service or secondary to his service-connected disabilities. The claims for increased ratings of left ankle DJD and lumbar DDD also require further development.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded due to the need for additional medical evidence and development of his claims. The issues include increased ratings for bilateral hearing loss, knee degenerative joint disease with right knee anterior cruciate ligament tear status post surgery and left knee medial meniscus tear status post surgery, right ankle bone cyst status post excision and bone grafting, and left Achilles tendonitis.

The Board found no evidence of chronic right or left ankle disorders during service and denied the Veteran's claims for service connection.

The Board denied claims for service connection for allergic rhinitis, bilateral foot disability, bilateral ankle disability, and skin disability of the hands and forearms. The Veteran's conditions were not found to be related to his military service.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development due to the submission of new evidence after a Supplemental Statement of the Case (SSOC) was issued in September 2015.

The Veteran's claim of entitlement to service connection for diabetes mellitus, type II (DM II) was denied because the evidence did not establish that he had service in Vietnam and therefore could not be presumed exposed to Agent Orange. The Board also found that there was no causal relationship between his current DM II and active duty service.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded for further development to determine the current severity of his service-connected PTSD, bilateral ankle disabilities, and TDIU.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's chronic joint pain of shoulders, wrists and ankles is a qualifying chronic disability under 38 C.F.R. § 3.317(a)(2), as it can be attributed to undiagnosed illness or medically unexplained multisymptom illness.

The Board has determined that a new medical opinion is needed to address the Veteran's left foot/ankle disability, including its relationship to his service and any other conditions. The RO must also attempt to obtain authorization from the Veteran for VA to obtain relevant treatment records.

The Veteran was previously denied a TDIU prior to September 5, 2012. The Board found that the service-connected disabilities did not prevent him from securing and following a substantially gainful occupation during this period.,Beginning September 5, 2012, the Veteran's service-connected disabilities rendered him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation, and the Board granted a TDIU at this time.

The Veteran's appeal for a separate rating for traumatic arthritis of the right ankle has been dismissed as moot due to the finding of clear and unmistakable error in the June 2009 rating decision.

The Veteran's appeal for service connection and increased ratings was denied. The Board found no current right hip disability, thus denying the claim of service connection for a right hip disability. For lumbar strain and right ankle sprain, the evidence did not show that the disabilities were caused by or aggravated by any service-connected conditions.

The Veteran's claims for increased rating and service connection were denied. The Veteran's residuals of left talar avulsion fracture are currently rated as 10 percent disabling, while the right ankle disability is not service-connected.

The Board has remanded the case for further development due to a missed VA examination, and the Veteran's right ankle disorder is related to service.

The Veteran's service-connected right ankle disability is rated at 10 percent, and the Board has denied his claims for secondary service connection for bilateral knee disability, low back disability, and residuals of a head injury.

The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for residuals of traumatic brain injury, manifested by headaches, is granted. The claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, peripheral neuropathy of the right upper extremity, and chronic disabilities of the knees and ankles are addressed in the REMAND portion of this decision.