The Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral ankle disabilities was denied in March 1985. New evidence has been submitted, relating to a current disability and unestablished fact necessary to substantiate the claim. The Board finds this new evidence is material and grants the petition to reopen the claim.
The deciding factor: New evidence related to a current disability (bilateral ankle disabilities) was added to the record since the March 1985 decision, which relates to an unestablished fact necessary to substantiate the claim of service connection for bilateral ankle disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral ankle disabilities
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 29, 2018
- Citation
- 18154358
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 18154358.
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 Board denied service connection for various conditions, including right shoulder disability, abdominal hernia, GERD, bilateral ankle disabilities, and bilateral foot disabilities. The evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were incurred or aggravated during the appellant's period of active duty.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has dismissed the Veteran's appeal for entitlement to TDIU and denied his claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, back strain, bilateral knee disabilities, and bilateral ankle disabilities. The claims of service connection for these conditions are remanded due to a duty-to-assist error.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's left shoulder disability, bilateral ankle disabilities, and bilateral knee disabilities due to new and relevant evidence submitted since the last denial. Service connection is also granted for gastritis (gastrointestinal condition) and cyst scrotum on the right side.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claims for service connection for a back disability and bilateral ankle disabilities as secondary to his already service-connected left knee disability and bilateral pes planus, based on the benefit of doubt rule.
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