The Board has determined that there is no competent medical evidence of right and left ankle arthritis that is causally or etiologically related to service or a service-connected disorder. Therefore, the Veteran's claims for service connection for arthritis of the right and left ankles have been denied.
The deciding factor: The VA examinations did not find any direct link between the Veteran's service-connected conditions and his current ankle disorders, nor could they establish a secondary service connection due to lack of evidence showing aggravation by a service-connected condition.
- Claimed conditions
- arthritis of the right ankle, arthritis of the left ankle
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 20, 2009
- Citation
- 0926990
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 0926990.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, in combination, render him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation consistent with his education and work history.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection, as well as remanded several claims for further development.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for a neck disorder, diagnosed as arthritis of the cervical spine, and a left leg disorder, diagnosed as arthritis of the left ankle.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for right and left knee conditions, thoracogenic scoliosis, and arthritis of the right ankle to obtain new medical opinions addressing pain and functional impairment.
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