The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection, as there was no evidence of increased disability or new and material evidence to support earlier effective dates.
The deciding factor: There is no competent or credible evidence that any of the claimed conditions have manifested in a degree of severity sufficient to warrant higher ratings or that the claims were filed within one year of initial entitlement.
- Claimed conditions
- Residuals of a right ankle fracture status-post open reduction and internal fixation, Two surgical scars at the right ankle, Cervical strain, Lumbosacral strain, Left knee strain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 17, 2025
- Citation
- A25089597
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 878 · Granted: 46% (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 A25089597.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for an initial disability rating in excess of 10 percent for cervical strain, service connection for left leg pain (claimed as joint pain), and service connection for a left ear hearing condition are being remanded due to duty-to-assist errors.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for cervical spine strain, right wrist sprain, right knee strain, left knee strain, and right ankle strain. The disabilities are all deemed to have begun during the Veteran's active duty.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for an initial disability rating in excess of 10 percent for the lumbar spine disability prior to October 11, 2022 and since December 1, 2022. The Veteran's claim is currently rated at 10 percent under Diagnostic Code 5242.
- Denied
The Veteran's VR&E benefits were denied as she did not have an employment handicap and was found to be employable with her current skills, experience, and education. The appeal must be denied.
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