The Board denied service connection for both left and right ankle disabilities, finding no current evidence of chronic conditions in service or post-service.
The deciding factor: The VA medical records did not show any chronic left or right ankle disorders during the veteran's active duty or after separation. The examiner noted that the veteran's joint pain was possibly related to a previous history of trauma but this opinion was based on the veteran's account, which lacked corroboration from other medical evidence.
- Claimed conditions
- left ankle sprain, right ankle injury
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 15, 2002
- Citation
- 0209946
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 0209946.
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.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for left shoulder strain and left ankle sprain, finding that the evidence was in approximate balance showing injuries during active duty training (ADT) from August 12, 2023 to August 25, 2023.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for hypogonadism with fatigue, GERD, and a right ear hearing loss disability. The Veteran's left rib disability was denied, and the ratings for his left shoulder injury, left hip bursitis, impairment of the left thigh, left knee retropatellar pain syndrome limitation of extension, and left ankle sprain were either granted or denied with specific rating percentages.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for left ankle sprain, finding that the Veteran's current condition is causally related to an in-service injury.
- Dismissed
The appeal was dismissed as the Veteran did not timely file a Board Appeal request.
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