The Veteran's acquired psychiatric condition, left ankle degenerative arthritis, and right ankle degenerative arthritis are granted service connection. The skin condition is denied.
The deciding factor: Service connection was established for the Veteran's acquired psychiatric condition due to credible evidence linking it to his in-service traumatic experiences as a fire fighter. Service connection was also granted for his left and right ankle conditions based on direct evidence of their onset during service, with no indication of continuity of symptomatology or aggravation.
- Claimed conditions
- Acquired psychiatric condition (anxiety and depression), Left ankle degenerative arthritis, Right ankle degenerative arthritis, Skin condition
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 22, 2024
- Citation
- 24003185
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 869 · Granted: 44% (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 24003185.
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 degenerative arthritis of the spine, right knee degenerative arthritis, left knee degenerative arthritis, right ankle degenerative arthritis, and left ankle degenerative arthritis.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for Squamous cell carcinoma of mouth and a skin condition due to inadequate medical opinions and potential exposure to toxins during service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the November 2024 rating decision is remanded due to a duty-to-assist error, specifically regarding the adequacy of the VA examination and consideration of the effects of medication on the Veteran's bilateral ankle disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the VA Ankle Conditions examination conducted on September 26, 2024 did not comply with the remand directives and is therefore inadequate. The Veteran's right ankle disability remains under review for a higher rating.
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