Ankle Board decisions

The Board has granted the Veteran's claims for service connection for various hip, shoulder, wrist, and ankle disabilities. The conditions are related to his military service.

The Veteran's claim for a disability rating in excess of 10 percent for a scar, residual of a cyst removed from the groin area is dismissed.,The Veteran's claim for an increased disability rating in excess of 20 percent for lumbar spine disability is denied. A 20 percent disability rating, but no higher, is granted.,The Veteran's claim for an increased disability rating in excess of 30 percent for PTSD is denied. A 10 percent disability rating, but no higher, is granted.,The Veteran's claim for a compensable disability rating for otitis media of the right ear is denied.,The Veteran's claim for a disability rating for chest wall muscle spasm, claimed as costochondritis, is granted with a 10 percent rating.,The Veteran's claim for an increased disability rating in excess of 20 percent for right ankle disability remains pending.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection of a left ankle condition, finding that there was no evidence to support a nexus between his current disability and his military service.

The Veteran's appeals for increased ratings and service connection were denied. The right ankle sprain and right knee strain are rated at 10 percent each, with no higher rating granted due to lack of evidence supporting more severe limitations.

The appeal for sleep apnea is dismissed as the Veteran withdrew her appeal.,The appeals for migraine headaches and rheumatoid arthritis are granted to the extent that new evidence has been submitted, but service connection remains denied overall.,The appeal for bilateral hearing loss is denied.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral shin splints and bilateral ankle stress fractures, finding that the Veteran's current conditions are related to her active duty service.

The Veteran withdrew his appeal concerning the service connection for various disabilities, including bilateral ankle, hip, shoulder, and knee disabilities, as well as an acquired psychiatric disorder and heat sensitivity.

The Board denied service connection for broken jaw/TMJ, motion sickness, right knee pain, right shin pain, left ankle pain, bilateral pes planus, and left buttock pain as there is no evidence of current disabilities.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for hearing loss, diabetes, right ankle tendonitis, and depressive disorder have been granted with effective dates of May 15, 2021. The rating assigned is 10% for right ankle tendonitis.

The Veteran's claim for SMC based on aid and attendance is remanded due to the need for an examination that properly assesses his disability picture in relation to his theory of entitlement, specifically focusing on service-connected disabilities alone.

The Veteran's right and left knee disabilities are granted as service-connected.,The Veteran's right and left ankle disabilities are granted as service-connected.

The Veteran's bilateral ankle strain, right knee strain, OSA, acquired psychiatric disability (depressive disorder and anxiety disorder), and CAD have all been granted service connection.,Service connection has been established for these conditions based on their direct relationship to the Veteran's military service.

The Board has granted service connection for right ankle strain and remanded the issue of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability.

The Board has granted service connection for left ankle disability, back disability, and sleep apnea as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected right ankle disability. The hearing loss claim was denied.

The Board has dismissed the appeals for service connection of migraine headaches, cervical strain, TMJ, sinusitis, bilateral ingrown toenails, and a bilateral ankle condition. Service connection was granted for right knee pain with an initial compensable rating assigned for left leg shin splints and right leg shin splints.

The Veteran's service connection claims for COPD, sleep apnea, and bilateral hearing loss are granted. The remaining conditions (headaches, left ankle disorder, left knee disorder, left hip disorder, back disorder, cervical spine disorder, tremors of the right upper extremity, tremors of the left upper extremity, anxiety disorder, and depression) were denied as not related to service.

The Veteran's initial request for a higher rating for his left ankle disability was granted, with a 20 percent rating being assigned.,For the right ankle disability, the case is remanded to obtain additional medical evidence and provide an updated retrospective opinion.

The Veteran's claims for increased rating and service connection are remanded due to inadequate examination reports.

The Veteran's bilateral hip and ankle conditions are secondary to his service-connected right knee patellofemoral syndrome, DJD with torn ACL and medial meniscus, and instability. The Board is remanding the claims due to duty-to-assist errors.

The Veteran withdrew his appeal for a disability rating greater than 10 percent for his right ankle surgical scar, resulting in the dismissal of this issue.