The Veteran's claim for a rating in excess of 20 percent for residuals of compressions fracture T11-12 was denied. The application to reopen the claim of entitlement to service connection for a right ankle disorder is granted, but the underlying claim itself is denied.
The deciding factor: There is no evidence showing that the Veteran's current right ankle disorder is causally related to his in-service complaints or injuries.
- Claimed conditions
- Right ankle disorder, Thoracic spine disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- December 31, 2019
- Citation
- 19197014
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,162 · Granted: 21% (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 19197014.
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 the Veteran's right ankle disorder, finding that it was not shown to be related to his active duty service and did not meet the criteria for secondary service connection due to his left ankle disability.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a right ankle disorder and a lung disorder, finding that the conditions are related to active-duty service.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection of a right ankle disorder, finding that there was no evidence linking his current condition to his military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient medical opinions regarding whether the Veteran's right ankle disorder is related to her military service. A new VA examination is needed.
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