The Board has determined that the Veteran did not sustain an injury to his left ankle during service and therefore, he cannot establish service connection for residuals of a left ankle injury. The claim for service connection for residuals of pneumonia is also denied as there is no credible evidence linking it to service.
The deciding factor: There was no documented injury to the left ankle in service, and the Veteran's assertions are not credible given his consistent misidentification of which ankle he injured during service.
- Claimed conditions
- residuals of a left ankle injury, residuals of pneumonia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- December 5, 2016
- Citation
- 1645541
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 1645541.
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 Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is not service-connected as there is no evidence of a current disability.,The Veteran's residuals of pneumonia are service-connected due to his military service and the presence of lung scarring from previous pneumonia episodes.,The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, is service-connected based on in-service stressors.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for service connection has been remanded due to the submission of new and relevant evidence. The claims will be reconsidered on their merits.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied service connection for multiple conditions, including GERD, neck injury, right knee injury, left knee injury, shrapnel wound to the lower left leg, right ankle injury, left ankle injury, RLE neuropathy, and lower back injury.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for residuals of pneumonia, finding that there is no current disability to establish entitlement.
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