The Board finds that the Veteran's left ankle injury in service caused his current chronic left ankle pain. The back disability is not directly related to service, but may be an indirect result of altered weight-bearing and asymmetric gait due to the original service-connected ankle injury.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found the left ankle sprain to be acute and less likely associated with a chronic condition. The private physician's opinion supports this finding by attributing the current back disability to the original ankle injury, which caused altered weight-bearing and asymmetric gait.
- Claimed conditions
- Left Ankle Disability, Back Disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 29, 2017
- Citation
- 1754501
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 1754501.
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.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for right and left ankle disabilities, as well as denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss. The Veteran's claims for other conditions are remanded due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for service connection for left ankle and right shoulder disabilities due to inadequate VA examination opinions. The claims will be reviewed again with new medical opinions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's service connection claims for erectile dysfunction and voiding dysfunction have been denied due to the lack of evidence linking these conditions to his in-service exposure.,The remaining service connection claims (for bilateral feet, ankles, hip, wrist, cervical spine, upper extremity radiculopathy, psychiatric disorder, GERD, sleep apnea, and hypertension) are remanded for further development.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for service connection for GAD is denied as his anxiety symptoms are subsumed under PTSD.,Service connection for Right Shoulder Strain and Left Ankle Disability is denied due to lack of current diagnosis or evidence of functional impairment.
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