Ankle Board decisions

The Board has granted service connection for left shoulder rotator cuff tendinopathy with degenerative joint disease. The remaining issues of entitlement to service connection for right elbow, wrist, ankle disabilities are remanded.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to incomplete documentation of his periods of active duty training (ACDUTRA) and inactive duty training (INACDUTRA). The Veteran served in the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve from 1982 until his retirement in 2013, with multiple periods of ACDUTRA and INACDUTRA.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities have prevented him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation prior to May 3, 2019.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection and disability rating due to insufficient medical opinions regarding his chest pain, bilateral leg/ankle disorder, and pseudoseizures. The issues are related as they all involve conditions stemming from or exacerbated by his service-connected pseudoseizure disorder.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for compensable disability ratings for his scar, right foot and scar, lower left ankle. The appeals are dismissed as the criteria for a compensable rating were not met.

The Veteran's appeal for an increased initial rating for a right ankle disability has been dismissed as the claim is no longer pending due to the grant of a 20 percent rating effective October 1, 2019.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection of a left leg condition, finding that there was no credible evidence to support his description of an in-service injury and subsequent treatment. The preponderance of the evidence indicated that the current disability did not stem from the claimed in-service event.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for right ankle, left ankle, right knee, and left knee disabilities due to outstanding VA treatment records from his previous residence in Florida.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient reasoning and lack of adequate statement of reasons or bases for finding that the Veteran's right leg disability, currently rated under 38 C.F.R. § 4.71a, DC 5271-5262, precludes a separate disability rating for his right knee disability.

The Board has remanded the claims for bilateral shoulder, elbow, hand, knee, and ankle disabilities due to insufficient evidence regarding their onset in service or relationship to a service-connected condition.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding whether the Veteran's current disabilities are related to service, and for further development of his rheumatoid arthritis claim.

The Board has denied service connection for various joint conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis of the neck, right shoulder, left shoulder, right elbow, left elbow, right index finger, right ankle, and left ankle. The decision is based on insufficient evidence to establish a direct link between these conditions and service.

The Board has denied service connection for PTSD, right ankle disability, and lumbar spine disability. Service connection was granted for bilateral hearing loss.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for low back disorder, bilateral knee disorder, and bilateral ankle disorder due to inadequate opinions from VA examiners regarding the Veteran's statements of continuity of symptoms since service.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for neck, bilateral elbow, bilateral wrist, bilateral knee, bilateral ankle, and bilateral foot disabilities due to inadequate VA examinations and failure to meet McLendon v. Nicholson criteria.

The Veteran's left ankle disability is rated at 30 percent, effective from the date of claim. SMC at the housebound rate is granted beginning February 27, 2020.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) due to his service-connected disabilities not precluding him from securing and following substantially gainful employment.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to insufficient medical opinions regarding his in-service fall and its impact on his current disabilities.

The Board denied a rating in excess of 20 percent for the Veteran's right and left ankle disabilities as there is no evidence of ankylosis, which would warrant a higher rating.

The Board has remanded the cases due to lack of substantial compliance with previous directives and the need for additional evidence. The Veteran's left ankle disability may have preexisted his active duty service, but a VA examination is needed to determine if it was aggravated during that time. For the left knee disability, a new VA examination is required as the Board relied on an inadequate one in its decision.