Evidence submitted since the October 1978 rating decision, where the RO denied entitlement to service connection for residuals of a left ankle sprain, is new and material, and the veteran's claim for that benefit is reopened.
The deciding factor: The evidence submitted since the last final denial bears directly and substantially upon the issue of entitlement to service connection for residuals of a left ankle sprain, and by itself or in connection with the evidence previously assembled, is significant enough to consider in order to fairly decide the merits of the claim.
- Claimed conditions
- left ankle sprain
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 24, 2004
- Citation
- 0405040
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 999 · Granted: 31% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 0405040.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's current right and left ankle disabilities are related to repetitive parachute jumps during service, granting service connection for these conditions.
- Granted
The Veteran's claims for service connection for left ankle sprain, right ankle sprain, anxiety with situational type phobia, left hip strain, left knee strain, right knee strain, and lumbar strain are granted effective March 3, 2022.,An earlier effective date of March 3, 2022, is assigned for the Veteran's service connection claims.
- Denied
The Veteran's left ankle condition, diagnosed as a left ankle sprain and degenerative arthritis, is currently rated at 10 percent. The Board found that the evidence did not show marked limitation of motion or ankylosis, which would warrant a higher rating. Therefore, the claim for a higher rating was denied.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities did not prevent her from securing and maintaining substantial, gainful employment prior to May 1, 2021. Her earnings exceeded the poverty threshold for each year during this period.
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