The Board has dismissed the appeals for service connection of various lower extremity disabilities, including right knee, right ankle, left ankle, right foot, and left foot disabilities, due to the Veteran's death.
The deciding factor: The appeal was dismissed as it is not jurisdictional but rather related to the Veteran's death.
- Claimed conditions
- Right knee disability, Right ankle disability, Left ankle disability, Right foot disability, Left foot disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 13, 2026
- Citation
- 26002089
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 26002089.
What this means for you
A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot. It says more about procedure than about whether a claim like this can win.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Veteran's right and left foot disabilities are currently rated at 10 percent each, but the Board found that they do not meet or approximate the criteria for a higher rating under any applicable diagnostic codes.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date of January 10, 1997, for a 10% disability rating for his right ankle disability is denied as there was no CUE in the previous decisions.
- 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.
- Granted
The Veteran's TDIU claim for bilateral knee disabilities and his right and left knee scars have been granted. He is now rated at a combined 60% disability rating from June 1, 2018 based on bilateral factors for his bilateral knee disabilities.
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