The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection, finding that his left ankle disability was not related to his service-connected shell fragment wound to the left leg. The RO is directed to provide additional development as outlined in the decision.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found no evidence of a direct relationship between the veteran's current left ankle problems and his service-connected shell fragment wounds, including the scar on the lower leg.
- Claimed conditions
- Left ankle disability, Shell fragment wound to left leg
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- April 27, 2004
- Citation
- 0410998
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,710 · Granted: 15% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0410998.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has granted the appellant's claim for service connection for left ankle disability residuals, finding that his current condition is due to an in-service injury and granting the benefit of the doubt.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The Veteran's claims for service connection have been dismissed due to their death.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's left ankle disability and headache disorder secondary to PTSD with alcohol use disorder have been granted increased ratings, effective September 16, 2018.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection were denied as the increase in severity of his conditions was not factually ascertainable within one year prior to March 30, 2023.,The effective dates for the grants of service connection for left knee instability and right knee instability are also denied.
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