The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and effective dates have been denied. The Board found that the Veteran did not meet the criteria for an effective date prior to August 17, 2022, for his service connection awards due to lack of a formal or informal claim before that date. For the right groin scar, the Veteran's rating remains at 10 percent as there is no evidence of instability or pain.
The deciding factor: The effective dates were not established prior to August 17, 2022, because the Veteran did not file a formal or informal claim for service connection before that date. For the right groin scar, the rating remains at 10 percent as there is no evidence of instability or pain.
- Claimed conditions
- Limited left hip flexion, Limited left hip extension, Limited left hip adduction, Bilateral hand onychomycosis, Right groin scar
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 20, 2026
- Citation
- A26004745
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 A26004745.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board denied an increased rating for allergic rhinitis and remanded the claims for cervical spine, hip, thigh, and hip extension disorders for further development.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board of Veterans' Appeals remands the issues of service connection for bilateral hearing loss, a recurrent sleep disability to include obstructive sleep apnea, and ratings for atrial fibrillation and a right groin scar due to unverified periods of active duty with the Florida Air National Guard.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities prevented her from securing or following substantially gainful employment since March 31, 2019. The claims for increased ratings were denied as the evidence did not meet the criteria for higher disability ratings.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's attorney has withdrawn the appeal for four issues involving limited hip flexion and extension, resulting in the dismissal of these cases.
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