The claim of entitlement to service connection for a right hand disability is dismissed.,The claim of entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder based on a June 2020 claim is denied.,The claims of entitlement to service connection for bilateral ankle and foot disabilities are remanded.
The deciding factor: The Veteran requested to withdraw his appeal regarding the right hand disability, leading to its dismissal.,There was no diagnosed acquired psychiatric disorder at any time during or recent to the pendency of the June 2020 claim. The evidence did not establish a current disability and is otherwise unrelated to service.,VA obtained medical opinions in October 2020 but they were inadequate as they only considered lack of treatment records showing chronicity during service without considering other possible etiologies. Remand for new VA examinations and medical opinions is necessary.
- Claimed conditions
- Right hand disability, Acquired psychiatric disorder, Left ankle disability, Right ankle disability, Left foot disability, Right foot disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 1, 2026
- Citation
- A26029440
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 A26029440.
What this means for you
A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot. It says more about procedure than about whether a claim like this can win.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a low back disability and an increased rating for his acquired psychiatric disorder. The Board found that there was no evidence linking the current disabilities to military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for a determination on whether injuries sustained in a November 2001 incident were in the line of duty. The claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder is also remanded due to its interdependence with the line of duty issue.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to a duty to assist error in failing to obtain private treatment records from the Veteran's treating clinician.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date of August 13, 2018, for the award of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder is granted. The Veteran also meets the schedular criteria for entitlement to TDIU prior to June 1, 2023.
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