The appeal for an initial compensable rating for a left ankle scar is dismissed. The restoration of the 20 percent disability rating for left ankle sprain with degenerative joint disease, effective June 1, 2018, is granted. The issue of a higher rating for the left ankle sprain with degenerative joint disease is remanded.
The deciding factor: The Veteran withdrew his appeal for an initial compensable rating for a left ankle scar in October 2019 during a hearing before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board).
- Claimed conditions
- Left ankle sprain with degenerative joint disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 28, 2020
- Citation
- 20007227
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,455 · Granted: 23% (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 20007227.
What this means for you
A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot. It says more about procedure than about whether a claim like this can win.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for higher ratings for his right and left ankle conditions were denied. The RO granted a 10% rating for the left ankle prior to June 17, 2010, and a 20% rating thereafter. A 20% rating was also granted for the right ankle from February 14, 2012, to June 13, 2016. The Veteran's claim for a higher rating on or after June 13, 2016, was denied.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected musculoligamentous strain, right knee, is currently rated at 10 percent and the Board finds that a higher rating is not warranted.
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