Ankle Board decisions

The Board has determined that the veteran incurred asthma in service and has a current low back disorder, but there is no competent evidence of a current bilateral ankle disorder. The electric shock to the left arm issue was not addressed as it lacks supporting medical evidence.

The Board has granted service connection for the veteran's right ankle disability and gastric ulcer, but denied a higher rating for PTSD. The veteran is currently rated at 10 percent for his right ankle instability and gastric ulcer.

The Board denied the appellant's claims for service connection for a left ankle disability and for reopening his claim of entitlement to service connection for a fungal disease involving the right foot. The Board found no chronic left ankle disability in service or prior to an industrial-related injury decades after service, and concluded that any current left ankle disability is not related to service. Regarding the fungal disease claim, the Board determined that new and material evidence has not been submitted to reopen the claim.

The Board has determined that the veteran's claims for secondary service connection were not well grounded and are therefore denied. The RO is directed to consider whether additional notification or development actions are required under the VCAA.

The veteran's left ankle disability, which included an avulsion fracture of the lateral malleolus prior to service, was aggravated during active service resulting in chronic left ankle sprain. The Board has granted service connection for this condition.

The Board has determined that the veteran's claims for increased evaluations of his right ankle, right knee, and left knee disabilities are denied as there is no evidence to support a higher rating under the applicable VA rating criteria.

The Board has reopened the appellant's claims of service connection for left ankle and left knee disabilities, finding that new evidence supports these claims. The Board also determined that both conditions are related to service.

The veteran died of a ruptured abdominal aneurysm. The Board found that the cause of death was not service-connected and denied DIC benefits under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1318.

The Board has determined that there was clear and unmistakable error in the March 1990 rating decision reducing the veteran's disability rating from 20% to 10%, thus restoring a 20% rating for his service-connected residuals of a gunshot wound of the left foot. As this finding renders moot the issue of an earlier effective date, the Board is without jurisdiction to consider it.

The Board found that the veteran's bilateral foot and ankle disability was not incurred in or aggravated by service, nor can it be presumed to have been incurred therein. The claim for service connection was denied.

The Board is considering whether new and material evidence has been submitted to reopen the veteran's claim of entitlement to service connection for a right ankle disability. The veteran contends that his current right ankle problems are either due to a pre-existing disability aggravated in service or directly caused by a fall during service.

The Board has determined that the veteran's right ankle disorder, which is currently rated as 30 percent disabling, warrants an award of special monthly compensation (SMC) based on loss of use of the right foot.

The Board has granted a 30 percent rating for the left ankle disability and has also granted an additional period of convalescence under temporary total disability ratings.

The Board has granted service connection for the left ankle disability with a 10% evaluation effective from January 21, 1997. The veteran's claim was reopened and his original claim in October 1974 is considered to have arisen prior to this date.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for residuals of a right shoulder injury, low back injury, and right ankle injury. The claim for higher rating for residuals of a left wrist injury is also denied.

The veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for a 20% disability rating for residuals of a left ankle fracture is denied.,The veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for a 10% disability rating for residuals of a left fibula fracture is denied.

The Board has granted service connection for a back disorder secondary to the veteran's service-connected left ankle disorder, but is unable to determine if this issue was part of an appeal regarding service connection or another issue. The initial evaluation remains at 10 percent.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection and initial compensable evaluation for his claimed disabilities, finding that there was insufficient evidence to support a diagnosis of PTSD based on in-service stressors and that the residuals of his stress fracture were essentially asymptomatic.

The veteran's disabilities, including arthritis in his right knee, tendonitis in his right ankle and foot, and hypertension, do not preclude him from securing and maintaining substantially gainful employment. Therefore, he is not entitled to nonservice-connected pension benefits.

The veteran's hypertension, cerebrovascular accident residuals, and psychiatric disorder were not found to be related to his service-connected right ankle fracture. The disability rating for the right ankle fracture was maintained at 30 percent.