The Board has granted annual clothing allowances for the Veteran's right and left ankle braces due to their tendency to wear out or tear his shoes, which are used to treat service-connected disabilities.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran’s bilateral ankle braces tended to cause wear and tear to his shoes, resolving reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran.
- Claimed conditions
- left ankle tendonitis, right ankle arthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 16, 2020
- Citation
- 20073423
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including prostate cancer and related disabilities, urinary incontinence, sleep apnea, hypertension, varicose veins, lumbar spine disability, hip arthritis, shoulder arthritis, ankle arthritis, knee strain, knee replacement, and hand arthritis. The only condition granted was a 10 percent rating for a fracture of the right proximal first metacarpal.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an earlier effective date of July 8, 1993, for the grant of service connection for left and right ankle tendonitis but remanded increased rating claims for these conditions as well as a higher rating claim for bilateral pes planus with heel tendinitis, bursitis, and stress fracture residuals.
- Dismissed
The appeal as to the proposed rating reduction of right ankle arthritis was dismissed, and an initial disability rating higher than 10% for right ankle scar was denied.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings and remanded service connection claims.
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