The Board has reopened the veteran's claim for service connection for a right ankle disorder due to new and material evidence submitted since the April 1988 denial. However, the preponderance of the evidence is against a causal link between his current right ankle disorder and any remote incident in service.
The deciding factor: The Board found that while there was new and material evidence suggesting a correlation between the veteran's current right ankle disability and injury during military service, the medical opinions were not at least as likely as not related to his service injuries.
- Claimed conditions
- chronic right ankle sprain
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- February 4, 2008
- Citation
- 0803916
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 0803916.
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: Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for a right hip strain, migraine and tension headaches, and chronic right ankle sprain as they require additional evidence through supplemental opinions.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for a rating in excess of 30 percent for right shoulder rotator cuff tendinosis and arthralgia, in excess of 10 percent for left knee chondromalacia patella with degenerative arthritis, in excess of 10 percent for right knee chondromalacia patella with degenerative arthritis, and in excess of 20 percent for chronic right ankle sprain to obtain additional medical opinions.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied increased ratings for the Veteran's right elbow, right ankle, and depressive disorder and chronic pain syndrome.
- Whole decision: Partly granted
The Board granted a 20 percent rating for the right ankle sprain and denied higher ratings for the other conditions.
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