The Board denied service connection for right and left ankle lateral collateral ligament sprain disabilities, finding no evidence of in-service injury or disease related to the current conditions.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found no continuity of care for an ankle injury during service and insufficient evidence linking the current disability to service.
- Claimed conditions
- right ankle lateral collateral ligament sprain, left ankle lateral collateral ligament sprain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- March 24, 2026
- Citation
- A26026492
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation A26026492.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's service connection claims for various conditions were granted effective from July 1, 2020.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The Board dismissed the appeal because the appellant requested to withdraw his appeal for service connection claims related to left ankle lateral collateral ligament sprain, left knee strain, bilateral hearing loss, and low back injury.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied earlier effective dates for service connection for various wrist and elbow conditions, finding that the Veteran did not submit the correct form within one year of receiving a decision.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the appeals for all issues related to service connection and rating decisions from February 2017, May 2019, and November 2019 due to untimely Notice of Disagreement filings.
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