The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for service connection of left ankle disability is being remanded due to the need to adjudicate a collateral attack motion regarding the August 1985 rating decision.
The deciding factor: The AOJ failed to address the Veteran's motion alleging clear and unmistakable error (CUE) in the August 1985 rating decision before granting service connection for left ankle disability, which is necessary to determine an earlier effective date.
- Claimed conditions
- lateral collateral ligament strain, osteoarthritis, instability of the left ankle, calcaneal ankle bone spurs, mild joint space loss, osteophytes, tendonitis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 14, 2024
- Citation
- A24074528
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,170 · Granted: 38% (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 A24074528.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board has granted an increase in PCAFC benefits to Level 2, finding that the Veteran requires continuous supervision or protection due to his cognitive decline and repeated falls.
- Denied
The Board has denied service connection for TBI, back strain, chest pain, foot pain, and tendonitis as there is no evidence of disease or injury incurred during active duty or training.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a right knee disability, finding that it is neither secondary to his service-connected right femoral neuropathy nor directly related to his active-duty service.
- Granted
The Veteran's lumbar spine condition, diagnosed as osteoarthritis and degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine, has been granted service connection since it began in service following his fall in 1972.
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