The Veteran's claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected right and left ankle degenerative joint disease is denied as the evidence does not show he is unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not demonstrate that the Veteran was unable to secure and follow a substantially gainful occupation due to his service-connected right and left ankle degenerative joint disease.
- Claimed conditions
- right and left ankle degenerative joint disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- January 22, 2019
- Citation
- 19104929
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,812 · Granted: 30% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 19104929.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board found that the Veteran did not have a bilateral leg disability during service and denied his claim for service connection. The Board also noted that there was no evidence of continuity of symptomatology after service, and therefore denied his claim based on post-service continuity of symptoms.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied increased ratings for the Veteran's service-connected right and left ankle degenerative joint disease on an extra-schedular basis, citing that the correct facts were before them and no errors in applying regulations or laws existed.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
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