The Veteran's current diagnosis of arthritis in the left ankle was not incurred or aggravated by active service, and there is no presumption for such a condition. The Board found that the evidence does not support a finding of continuity of symptomatology since service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner opined that it was less likely than not that the Veteran's left ankle sprain was related to the fall in service because X-rays show the same objective evidence of arthritis in both ankles, even though the right ankle was not injured in service.
- Claimed conditions
- arthritis, left ankle
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 9, 2010
- Citation
- 1042205
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 1042205.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal has been dismissed due to their death. The issues on appeal were about increased ratings for various knee and spine conditions, as well as TDIU.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection of various conditions, including arthritis of the right and left ankles, right knee disorder, left knee disorder, and sleep apnea syndrome. The appeal is remanded due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's claim for hypertension.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal has been dismissed due to his death. No decision was made on the merits of any claims.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's service-connected disabilities render him so helpless as to require regular assistance of another person, meeting the criteria for SMC based on need for aid and attendance.
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