The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a right ankle and calf disability and an acquired psychiatric disability (anxiety), finding that there was no credible evidence linking these conditions to his military service.
The deciding factor: The medical opinions were against a nexus between the current disabilities and service, with one examiner concluding that post-service gradual wear and tear is significantly more likely to have caused the right ankle disability.
- Claimed conditions
- Right Ankle and Calf Disability, Acquired Psychiatric Disability (Anxiety)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 25, 2026
- Citation
- 26002677
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 26002677.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for further development due to duty-to-assist errors, and will consider whether the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disability, including anxiety, clearly and unmistakably preexisted his entrance into military service or is otherwise etiologically related to his service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to insufficient medical opinions and additional development is needed.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
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