The Board has determined that the veteran's degenerative arthritis of the right and left ankles do not warrant a higher evaluation based on current medical evidence.
The deciding factor: The VA examinations did not show any additional functional loss or other manifestations beyond those contemplated by the currently assigned 20% rating under Diagnostic Code 5271 for limitation of motion in the ankles.
- Claimed conditions
- degenerative arthritis of the right ankle, degenerative arthritis of the left ankle
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- August 29, 2000
- Citation
- 0022977
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 0022977.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for left ankle instability as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected left ankle disability and hypertension, but denied increased ratings for the left ankle disability and other forms of arthritis.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for left hand and right hand essential tremors, as well as increased ratings for knee instability, degenerative arthritis of the spine, and degenerative arthritis of the right ankle. The appeal was denied for a left ankle disability.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for posttraumatic stress disorder and left ear hearing loss, while dismissing the appeals for atopic dermatitis with folliculitis, migraine headaches, right ear hearing loss, degenerative arthritis of both ankles, and left hip coxa saltans.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for olecranon enthesophyte to include degenerative arthritis of the left elbow, degenerative arthritis of the right ankle, insomnia, and headaches, resolving reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran.
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