The Board found that the veteran's right ankle fracture was not proximately due to or caused by his service-connected residuals of back injury with incomplete right foot drop. The VA examiner concluded that the fall occurred when he stepped in a hole, and there was no underlying ankle or foot pathology causing his fall. For depressive disorder, the Board noted that while the veteran exhibited symptoms such as depressed mood, anxiety, and mild memory loss, these did not meet the criteria for total occupational and social impairment required for a 100% evaluation.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner's opinion was based on review of the full medical record and found no evidence supporting the claim that the right ankle fracture was caused by his service-connected back injury with incomplete foot drop. The Board also noted that while the veteran exhibited symptoms consistent with depressive disorder, these did not meet the criteria for a 100% evaluation.
- Claimed conditions
- residuals of right ankle fracture, depressive disorder
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 30%
- Decision date
- June 21, 2004
- Citation
- 0416038
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,377 · 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 0416038.
What this means for you
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