The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection of right ankle arthritis, finding that there was no indication from the record that the disability did not completely resolve without residuals prior to his separation from active service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner opined that the current right ankle arthritis is not related to service and found no indication from the record that the in-service right ankle sprain resulted in permanent residual disability within one year of separation.
- Claimed conditions
- right ankle arthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 19, 2019
- Citation
- 19147922
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
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including prostate cancer and related disabilities, urinary incontinence, sleep apnea, hypertension, varicose veins, lumbar spine disability, hip arthritis, shoulder arthritis, ankle arthritis, knee strain, knee replacement, and hand arthritis. The only condition granted was a 10 percent rating for a fracture of the right proximal first metacarpal.
- Dismissed
The appeal as to the proposed rating reduction of right ankle arthritis was dismissed, and an initial disability rating higher than 10% for right ankle scar was denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for further development, specifically to obtain relevant Social Security Administration records.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for right foot arthritis and an earlier effective date of January 3, 2017, for a psychiatric disability rating, but denied service connection for left ankle disorder, right ankle arthritis (secondary to PTSD), increased rating for psychiatric disability, TDIU, and obstructive sleep apnea.
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