The Board has determined that there is no evidence of a left ankle disorder in service or within any applicable presumptive period, and the evidence does not support a finding of a nexus between any currently diagnosed left ankle disorder and the appellant's period of active service from August 1974 to May 1992. Therefore, service connection for a left ankle disorder is denied.
The deciding factor: The VA medical examiner specifically stated that the appellant's current left ankle disorder was less likely as not (less than 50/50 probability) caused by or a result of the left ankle sprain sustained in service.
- Claimed conditions
- degenerative arthritis of the left ankle
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 5, 2006
- Citation
- 0609933
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for left ankle instability as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected left ankle disability and hypertension, but denied increased ratings for the left ankle disability and other forms of arthritis.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for posttraumatic stress disorder and left ear hearing loss, while dismissing the appeals for atopic dermatitis with folliculitis, migraine headaches, right ear hearing loss, degenerative arthritis of both ankles, and left hip coxa saltans.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for tinnitus and various musculoskeletal conditions, finding that the evidence did not support a link between these conditions and the Veteran's active duty service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remanded all issues to address a duty-to-assist error and locate missing private treatment records.
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