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Denied

The Veteran's right ankle disability is currently rated at 10 percent, effective from October 24, 2018. The Board denied a higher rating for this condition.

The deciding factor: The VA examiner found that the Veteran’s range of motion did not fit the criteria for ankylosis and thus could not be rated as such.

Claimed conditions
Degenerative arthritis with annular tear, thoracolumbar spine, Degenerative arthritis, cervical spine (claimed as neck), Functional residuals, status-post tendon tear and surgical repair, right ankle, Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
How they argued it
Direct service connection
Exposure basis
None
Rating assigned
10%
Decision date
May 21, 2019
Citation
19139613

Veterans Law Judge

Cynthia M. Bruce

Decisions by this judge: 1,893 · Granted: 31% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted 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. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 19139613.

What this means for you

A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.

What you can do next

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