The Veteran's disability rating for residuals of left ankle sprains was increased to 20 percent from June 25, 2008 to October 23, 2008. The rating for DDD of the lumbar spine remains unchanged.
The deciding factor: The VA examinations and lay statements provided sufficient evidence to show that the Veteran's left ankle sprain had worsened significantly from June 25, 2008 to October 23, 2008, warranting a higher rating of 20 percent.
- Claimed conditions
- Left Ankle Sprain, Degenerative Disc Disease (DDD) of the Lumbar Spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- October 29, 2020
- Citation
- 20070300
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,030 · Granted: 17% (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 20070300.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's PTSD, sleep apnea, hypertension, right MCA stroke with left-sided hemiplegia and major neurocognitive impairment, headaches, left ankle sprain, cervical sprain, and lumbar disc disease are all granted as secondary to service-connected conditions.
- Granted
The Board has granted restoration of the Veteran's ratings for his service-connected right and left ankle disabilities from 30% to 10%, effective November 1, 2020.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an initial 10 percent rating for bilateral hearing loss but denied a higher rating and also denied an increased rating for left ankle sprain.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for increased ratings and service connection due to the need for additional medical opinions regarding functional ankylosis and aggravation of obstructive sleep apnea by service-connected disabilities.
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