The Veteran's claim for service connection for a psychiatric disability (depressive disorder) was reopened due to new and material evidence. Service connection is granted.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for a left ankle disability was also reopened due to new and material evidence. The Board finds that the Veteran's current psychiatric disability may be aggravated by his service-connected right ankle disability.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner opined, after considering all relevant evidence, including the Veteran’s history of in-service left ankle sprain and post-service treatment for depression, that it is at least as likely as not that the Veteran's psychiatric disability was aggravated by his service-connected right ankle disability.
- Claimed conditions
- Depressive Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (DDNOS), Left Ankle Disability
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 18, 2021
- Citation
- 21008844
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 21008844.
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 Board has granted service connection for right and left ankle disabilities, as well as denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss. The Veteran's claims for other conditions are remanded due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for service connection for left ankle and right shoulder disabilities due to inadequate VA examination opinions. The claims will be reviewed again with new medical opinions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's service connection claims for erectile dysfunction and voiding dysfunction have been denied due to the lack of evidence linking these conditions to his in-service exposure.,The remaining service connection claims (for bilateral feet, ankles, hip, wrist, cervical spine, upper extremity radiculopathy, psychiatric disorder, GERD, sleep apnea, and hypertension) are remanded for further development.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for service connection for GAD is denied as his anxiety symptoms are subsumed under PTSD.,Service connection for Right Shoulder Strain and Left Ankle Disability is denied due to lack of current diagnosis or evidence of functional impairment.
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