The Board has decided to remand the claims for service connection for right and left ankle lateral collateral ligament (LCL) sprains due to a pre-decisional duty-to-assist error. The AOJ obtained an inadequate VA medical opinion, which is now being corrected.
The deciding factor: The VA medical opinion was found to be inadequate as it did not consider the Veteran's lay reports of in-service injuries and ongoing symptoms since service.
- Claimed conditions
- right ankle lateral collateral ligament (LCL) sprain, left ankle LCL sprain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 27, 2026
- Citation
- A26007425
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 A26007425.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities render him so helpless that he requires the regular aid and attendance of another person, as evidenced by his need for assistance with bathing/showering, tending to hygiene needs, eating or self-feeding, transferring in or out of a bed/chair, dressing, toileting, ambulating with his home or living area, and medication management.
- Granted
The veteran's PTSD with TBI was rated at 100% from August 1, 2022 to March 19, 2023. The veteran also qualifies for special monthly compensation (SMC) based on housebound criteria.
- 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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