The Board has granted service connection for a right ankle disability on a secondary basis to the veteran's service-connected left ankle disability. The case is remanded for further action regarding initial ratings for left ankle sprain and bilateral hearing loss.
The deciding factor: Service connection was granted based on the benefit of doubt, as there is equipoise in whether the current right ankle disability is causally related to the service-connected left ankle disability.
- Claimed conditions
- Right ankle disability, Left ankle sprain with lateral ligament reconstructive surgery, pain, and limitation of motion
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- June 24, 2004
- Citation
- 0416576
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,776 · Granted: 24% (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 0416576.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board allowed the benefit or issue identified in this decision. Review the original order: other issues in the same appeal may have a different outcome, and this decision does not predict another claim.
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: Denied
The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date of January 10, 1997, for a 10% disability rating for his right ankle disability is denied as there was no CUE in the previous decisions.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding whether the Veteran's right ankle disability is related to his service. The VA examiner must provide an opinion on this matter.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has dismissed the appeals to reduce disability ratings for bilateral hearing loss and right ankle disabilities. The case is REMANDED for a VA examination regarding the service connection claim for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's right ankle disability is granted a 20 percent rating, but no higher. The claim for a compensable rating for Pseudofolliculitis barbae (PFB) is denied.
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