The Veteran's claim for increased rating and secondary service connection were denied. The Veteran was granted a 20% rating for his left ankle disability, but the claims for knee and hip disabilities remain unresolved.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found no causal link between the Veteran's hip arthritis and his service-connected ankle fracture or altered gait.
- Claimed conditions
- Fracture of the left medial malleolus, Left knee disability (to include as secondary to a service-connected fracture of the left medial malleolus), Left hip disability
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- November 12, 2010
- Citation
- 1042582
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 1042582.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew the claims for psychiatric disability and sleep apnea.,Service connection was granted for right lower extremity radiculopathy and left lower extremity radiculopathy secondary to a service-connected back disability, but denied for right wrist disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for various disabilities, including low back, left hip, right hip, left shoulder, and right shoulder disabilities. The VA examinations did not provide adequate opinions regarding the etiology of these conditions.
- Granted
The Veteran's bladder cancer, hypertension, Bowen's disease (skin condition), thyroid condition (hypothyroidism/hyperthyroidism), back disability, left hip disability, osteopenia/osteoporosis, and right foot vascular disorder are all granted as presumptively related to herbicide exposure. The Veteran's service-connected bilateral knee disabilities are also found to be secondary to these conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for thoracolumbar spine disability and left hip disability due to inadequate medical opinions in the original decision. The claims will be reconsidered with new medical opinions.
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