The Board has reopened the Veteran's claim for service connection for a left leg disability and granted service connection for osteoarthritis of the left foot and left ankle. The Veteran's current disabilities are considered direct service-connected.
The deciding factor: The evidence shows that the Veteran had symptoms of arthritis in her feet and ankles during active duty, which is sufficient to establish service connection as a direct result of service.
- Claimed conditions
- Osteoarthritis of the left foot, Osteoarthritis of the left ankle
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 14, 2011
- Citation
- 1145626
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 1145626.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Veteran's right wrist carpal tunnel syndrome and left wrist carpal tunnel syndrome are currently rated at 30 percent and 20 percent, respectively. The Board denied the claims for higher ratings as the evidence did not meet the criteria for a higher rating under DC 8515.,The Veteran's osteoarthritis of the right ankle and left ankle are both currently rated at 10 percent. The Board denied the claims for higher ratings as there is no evidence that meets the criteria for a higher rating under Diagnostic Codes 5003-5271.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for additional development, including obtaining a new VA examination to address the inadequacies of previous examinations and obtain any relevant private treatment records.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claim of service connection for osteoarthritis of the feet, as it is related to a service-connected condition (cold injury).
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for bilateral knee degenerative arthritis and bilateral ankle osteoarthritis, finding that the evidence is approximately evenly balanced as to whether these conditions are related to active duty service.
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