The Veteran's bilateral ankle strain and TDIU were granted based on the evidence supporting a direct connection to service and unemployability due to his service-connected disabilities.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral ankle strain is at least as likely as not related to an in-service fall and wearing inserts, and that his service-connected disabilities prevent him from obtaining and maintaining substantially gainful employment consistent with his education and employment history.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral ankle strain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- April 1, 2025
- Citation
- 25004396
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,084 · Granted: 20% (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 25004396.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for chronic fatigue syndrome, sinusitis, and sleep apnea but granted service connection for bilateral ankle strain and bilateral knee strain. The claims for increased ratings were also denied.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for a lower back disability, left knee strain, bilateral ankle strain, right lower extremity sciatica, and PTSD based on military sexual trauma.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's service-connected major depressive disorder with anxious distress and traumatic brain injury has rendered him unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment since January 2022, qualifying for a TDIU. Additionally, the Veteran is in receipt of SMC at the housebound rate due to additional service-connected disabilities. The claim for bilateral pes planus remains pending as it involves duty to assist errors.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's TDIU claim is dismissed because he is already receiving a combined schedular rating of 100% for his service-connected disabilities, which means he does not have any single disability rated as totally disabling and thus does not meet the criteria for SMC at the housebound rate.
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