The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection of traumatic arthritis of the left ankle and arthritis of the feet, as well as his claim for peripheral neuropathy. The decision on peripheral neuropathy was based on a finding that there is no relationship between the veteran's claimed left ankle sprain in service and the subsequent development of peripheral neuropathy.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the veteran's peripheral neuropathy was bilateral in nature and affected multiple nerve distributions, not related to his claimed left ankle sprain in service.
- Claimed conditions
- Traumatic arthritis of the left ankle, Arthritis of the feet
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- April 15, 2004
- Citation
- 0409853
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,710 · Granted: 15% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0409853.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for arthritis of the arms, feet, and legs; hearing loss; thoracolumbar spine disability; sleep apnea; and PTSD. However, a 10 percent rating was granted for prostatitis with BPH prior to September 19, 2020.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for additional development due to inadequate opinions in his VA examinations regarding the nature and etiology of his claimed conditions.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for a compensable rating for traumatic arthritis of the left ankle prior to July 5, 2018, and an increased rating in excess of 10 percent thereafter was dismissed as he withdrew his appeal.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's appeal for SMC higher than (m) plus (k) was denied as his service-connected disabilities do not meet the criteria for a higher rating under section 1114(o). The Veteran has more than one disability rated at 100 percent, but does not have two or more separate and distinct disabilities that would qualify him for SMC rates listed in subsections (l) through (n).
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