The appeal for service connection for a left ankle disability and the current left ankle disability to include residuals of sprain was denied due to lack of evidence supporting continuity of symptomatology or a nexus between the current condition and service.
The deciding factor: The Board found that there was no documentation of symptoms of residuals of a left ankle injury or sprain for over a decade after service, which is more probative than the veteran's statements of continuity. Additionally, none of the documented left ankle problems by private physicians in 1984, 1990, and 1998 were associated with an ankle injury during service.
- Claimed conditions
- Right shoulder disability, Right hip disability, Right ankle disability, Bilateral hearing loss, Tinnitus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 15, 2008
- Citation
- 0812436
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's appeal for increased ratings for right and left shoulder disabilities, as the evidence did not support a higher rating under applicable criteria.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, as there was no evidence of a current disability in the right ear and insufficient evidence to establish a nexus between the left ear hearing loss and service.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's conditions are related to in-service noise exposure.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matter for a medical clarification regarding whether the Veteran's service-connected epilepsy has aggravated his bilateral hearing loss.
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