The Board denied increased ratings for the veteran's left ankle fracture and lateral instability of the left knee, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating under the applicable VA rating criteria.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence showed that the veteran had ankylosis in his left ankle joint but was still able to walk with assistance. For the left knee, he had moderate instability without recurrent subluxation or dislocation.
- Claimed conditions
- Lateral instability of the left knee, Residuals of a left ankle fracture
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 23, 2004
- Citation
- 0410593
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 504 · 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 0410593.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the cases for further development due to inadequate VA examinations and failure to address specific issues related to the Veteran's left knee.
- Granted
The Board granted a 20 percent rating for the Veteran's residuals of a left ankle fracture, service connection for a right ankle disability, and service connection for a psychiatric disability.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for service connection for sleep apnea was denied, and his left knee disability received increased ratings of 20% each.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that additional development is needed to assess the current severity and manifestations of the Veteran's service-connected lateral instability of the left knee, including range of motion measurements for active motion, passive motion, weight-bearing, and nonweight-bearing. The case will be remanded for these purposes.
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