The veteran's service-connected left ankle disorder is currently rated at the highest possible rating (20 percent) under Code 5271 for limitation of motion of the ankle. The Board denied a higher rating as there was no indication that pain caused the level of functional impairment to rise to the equivalency of ankylosis.
The deciding factor: The disability picture due to the veteran's left ankle disorder is not so unusual or exceptional, with such related factors as frequent hospitalization or marked interference with employment, as to render impractical application of the regular schedular criteria.
- Claimed conditions
- left ankle disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- May 28, 2004
- Citation
- 0413826
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,699 · Granted: 17% (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 0413826.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for bilateral hearing loss, left ankle disorder, and skin disorder (claimed as neurodermatitis) due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology. The Veteran is required to undergo additional VA examinations to determine if his current conditions are related to service.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for treatment purposes only under Chapter 17 for various conditions, including cervical spine condition, right upper extremity nerve condition, left upper extremity nerve condition, headache condition, right wrist condition, left wrist condition, right elbow condition, left elbow condition, right shoulder condition, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), bilateral pes planus, right ankle disorder, left ankle disorder, and left knee disorder.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the cases for new VA examinations due to inadequate opinions in the July 2020 VA examination reports. The Veteran's right shoulder disorder, left ankle disorder, and lumbar spine disorder are being reviewed again to determine if they are related to his active duty service.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the appeal for a higher rating for tinnitus and denied claims for earlier effective dates for service connection of left breast scars, hyperlipidemia/high cholesterol, bilateral hip disorders, and left ankle disorder.
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