The Veteran's right ankle disability is currently rated at 10 percent, and the Board finds no basis to grant a higher rating.,Service connection for a pulmonary condition (chronic pneumonia) has not been established as there is insufficient evidence linking it to service.,Service connection for a bilateral arm condition has also not been established due to lack of evidence connecting it to service.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's right ankle disability does not meet the criteria for a higher rating, with no additional functional loss or limitation during flare-ups. The VA examinations did not provide sufficient objective findings to support a higher rating.,There is insufficient medical evidence linking the Veteran’s claimed pulmonary condition (chronic pneumonia) to service. The Board finds that the preponderance of the evidence does not support a finding in favor of service connection for this condition.,The bilateral arm condition has also not been linked to service, with no objective findings or medical evidence supporting its onset during service.
- Claimed conditions
- Right ankle disability, Pulmonary condition (claimed as chronic pneumonia and lung condition), Bilateral arm condition (swollen and painful elbows and wrist joints)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 21, 2019
- Citation
- 19188100
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,104 · Granted: 28% (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 19188100.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date of January 10, 1997, for a 10% disability rating for his right ankle disability is denied as there was no CUE in the previous decisions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding whether the Veteran's right ankle disability is related to his service. The VA examiner must provide an opinion on this matter.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has dismissed the appeals to reduce disability ratings for bilateral hearing loss and right ankle disabilities. The case is REMANDED for a VA examination regarding the service connection claim for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD.
- Granted
The Veteran's right ankle disability is granted a 20 percent rating, but no higher. The claim for a compensable rating for Pseudofolliculitis barbae (PFB) is denied.
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