The Veteran's right ankle disability is rated at 20 percent, and he has been granted service connection for his acquired psychiatric disorder (including PTSD and MDD). The claim for a substance abuse disorder was remanded.
The deciding factor: Service connection established based on secondary theory of aggravation due to pre-existing conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- Right ankle anterior talofibular ligament strain with osteoarthritis, Acquired psychiatric disorder (including PTSD and MDD)
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- January 22, 2020
- Citation
- 20004969
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,011 · Granted: 24% (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 20004969.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided that the Veteran's claims for service connection for type II diabetes mellitus and an acquired psychiatric disorder (including PTSD and MDD) are not granted. The case is remanded to obtain a VA examination.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD and MDD, finding that the Veteran's symptoms are related to his military service. The decision resolves reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded multiple issues related to the Veteran's service-connected conditions, including Parkinson’s disease, an acquired psychiatric disorder (including PTSD and MDD), leukemia, COPD, AC joint arthritis of the left shoulder, urinary frequency, erectile dysfunction, sleep apnea, renal artery stenosis, peripheral neuropathy, cervical spine disability, hypertension, and lumbar spine disability. The Veteran is required to attend VA examinations for these issues.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, left hand neuropathy, bilateral hearing loss, and asthma have been denied. The claim for service connection for PTSD has been reopened due to new evidence provided by the Veteran.
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