The Board denied service connection for bilateral ankle disability and vertigo, finding that the disabilities were not incurred or aggravated by service.,The Court remanded the case due to conflicting opinions on whether the Veteran's current conditions are related to his active duty service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found no evidence of an inservice disease or injury superimposed on a congenital defect, and that any current disabilities were acquired after service.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Ankle Disability, Vertigo
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 22, 2020
- Citation
- 20080438
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for lumbar spine disability, as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected left foot crush injury, and sciatic radiculopathy of both lower extremities, also secondary to the newly service-connected lumbar spine disability. The Board denied an initial rating in excess of 70 percent for depressive disorder with unspecified anxiety disorder and a compensable rating for allergic rhinitis.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for tinnitus, bilateral hip, knee, and ankle disabilities due to a lack of evidence supporting an in-service injury or continuity of symptomatology. The claim for a psychiatric disorder was also denied as the Veteran's statements were found not credible.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, effective August 28, 2018, due to clear and unmistakable error in the October 2018 rating decision. Service connection was also granted for major depressive disorder (MDD) as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for a higher evaluation for service-connected vertigo, finding that the evidence did not support an evaluation in excess of 10 percent.
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