The Veteran's petition to reopen his claim for service connection for left ankle fracture is granted. An effective date of December 25, 2006, but no earlier, is granted for the grant of service connection for TBI. The case is remanded for further action on the issues of higher initial rating for TBI and service connection for left ankle sprain.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's claim was previously denied due to lack of current disability evidence. New evidence has now been submitted that relates to a previously unestablished element (current diagnosis) and raises a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim, thus reopening it.
- Claimed conditions
- left ankle fracture, left ankle sprain, mild residual instability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 21, 2020
- Citation
- 20080194
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for left shoulder strain and left ankle sprain, finding that the evidence was in approximate balance showing injuries during active duty training (ADT) from August 12, 2023 to August 25, 2023.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for hypogonadism with fatigue, GERD, and a right ear hearing loss disability. The Veteran's left rib disability was denied, and the ratings for his left shoulder injury, left hip bursitis, impairment of the left thigh, left knee retropatellar pain syndrome limitation of extension, and left ankle sprain were either granted or denied with specific rating percentages.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for left ankle sprain, finding that the Veteran's current condition is causally related to an in-service injury.
- Dismissed
The appeal was dismissed as the Veteran did not timely file a Board Appeal request.
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