The Board has determined that the Veteran's pre-existing right ankle disorder was aggravated during service, and therefore service connection is granted for residuals of right ankle fracture (claimed as right foot condition) and traumatic arthropathy.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran's preexisting right ankle disorder was aggravated during his active-duty service due to symptoms reported by the Veteran in service and after separation from service, which raised the presumption of aggravation. The evidence did not clearly and unmistakably show that the disorder was not aggravated by an in-service injury or incident.
- Claimed conditions
- residuals of right ankle fracture, traumatic arthropathy
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 30, 2024
- Citation
- 24004687
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,316 · Granted: 43% (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 24004687.
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 Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not render him permanently bedridden or unable to care for his daily needs without requiring the regular aid and attendance of another person. He is not substantially confined to his house due to service-connected disabilities, nor does he have a single service-connected disability ratable at 100 percent along with other unrelated disabilities that combine to at least 60 percent.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that additional evidence should be obtained and the claims remanded for further development.
- Granted
The Veteran's residuals of right ankle fracture were granted a rating of 20 percent from May 3, 2011, to May 26, 2016, and April 1, 2017, to October 27, 2019. The appeal is denied for the period from October 28, 2019.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including bilateral hearing loss and right knee strain with traumatic arthritis associated with residuals of right ankle fracture, make it unlikely that he is able to obtain and maintain substantially gainful employment. The Board has granted a TDIU based on this finding.
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