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Board of Veterans' Appeals · AMA series

Entitlement to service connection for right wrist chronic pain is denied.

July 30, 2026Citation Nr. A26069908Docket 220630-255130va.gov source

  • right wrist chronic painDenied
  • cervicalgiaDenied
  • left ankle conditionDenied
  • acquired psychiatric disability, to include PTSDRemanded
DecisionAnalysis

Board reasoning

The Board denied service connection for the right wrist and cervicalgia, finding no nexus to in-service events and noting a current disability for each but no link to service. The left ankle claim was denied for lack of a current diagnosed disability. The psychiatric disability claim was remanded for a VA examination to determine onset and etiology, recognizing possible in-service stressors and the need for additional development. The Board relied on a March 2022 VA opinion for nexus on the right wrist, and found no sufficient evidence to relate cervicalgia or left ankle symptoms to service, while remanding the psychiatric issue for proper evaluation.

Issues

  • right wrist chronic painDenied
  • cervicalgiaDenied
  • left ankle conditionDenied
  • acquired psychiatric disability, to include PTSDRemanded

Authorities

  • Saunders v. Wilkie, 886 F.3d 1356Considered analogous to pain with functional impairment, but no functional loss shown for left ankle
  • McClain v. Nicholson, 21 Vet. App. 319Supports need for evidence of current disability and relation to service
  • Holton v. Shinseki, 557 F.3d 1362Cited for the three-element test for service connection (current disability, in-service event, nexus)

Extracted with gpt-5-nano-2025-08-07. Citations are kept only when they appear in the decision text.