The Veteran's claim of service connection for a left ankle disability, to include as secondary to his service-connected left knee disability, is denied. The claim for an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for a left knee disability is also denied.
The deciding factor: There was no evidence showing that the Veteran's current left ankle disability had its onset during active service or within one year following discharge, and it was not shown to be related to his service-connected left knee disability. The effective date cannot be earlier than the date of receipt of the application to reopen the claim for service connection.
- Claimed conditions
- left ankle disability, arthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 16, 2017
- Citation
- 1733356
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 1733356.
What this means for you
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has expanded the scope of the claim to include any mental health disorder raised by the record and has remanded for additional development regarding service connection for left leg, ankle, and psychiatric disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for tinnitus, arthritis, and memory loss. The decision found no evidence linking these conditions to his military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for left, right ankle disabilities, left and right hip disabilities, left and right shin splints, and left and right knee disabilities due to inadequate nexus opinions in the VA examination reports. The Veteran contends that her current disabilities are related to injuries sustained during basic training.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death and entitlement to DIC due to a failure to obtain a medical opinion prior to the rating decision on appeal regarding whether the Veteran's arthritis was related to his period of active service, and if so, whether it contributed to his death.
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