The Board granted service connection for a left ankle disability, right ankle disability, and back disability (lumbosacral strain) based on the evidence showing onset during active duty.
The deciding factor: The evidence is at least evenly balanced as to whether the disabilities had onset in service, and reasonable doubt must be resolved in favor of the Veteran.
- Claimed conditions
- back disability, diagnosed as lumbosacral strain, left ankle disability manifested by pain, right ankle disability manifested by pain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 20, 2025
- Citation
- A25044920
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,081 · 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 A25044920.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for lumbar spine degenerative arthritis and DDD, right knee joint osteoarthritis, left knee joint osteoarthritis, chest disability manifested by pain, left leg disability manifested by pain, right ankle disability manifested by pain, sleep apnea, and right ear hearing loss. The claim for left ear hearing loss is denied as the Veteran does not meet the regulatory threshold for a current hearing loss disability.
- Granted
The Veteran's tinnitus, right knee disability, left knee disability, neck disability, left ankle disability, right ankle disability, left hip disability, and right hip disability are all granted as service-connected.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the service-connection claims for a back disability, left knee disability, and right shoulder disability to correct pre-decisional duty-to-assist errors.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for left ankle disability manifested by pain and disability manifested by chest pain, but denied service connection for hemoptysis and left lower extremity radiculopathy. The claims of service connection for dizziness as secondary to tinnitus and right lower extremity disability were remanded.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.