The Board found that the veteran's below-the-knee amputation was not caused by VA negligence or fault, and thus compensation under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151 is denied.
The deciding factor: The causation of the postoperative wound infection following the arthrodesis in December 1999 was deemed an unforeseeable event, not due to VA's negligence or fault.
- Claimed conditions
- Below the left knee amputation
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 29, 2003
- Citation
- 0301688
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 504 · Granted: 31% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 0301688.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for below the left knee amputation, finding that there was no evidence of a chronic condition in service or within the applicable presumptive period. The Board also found that the current disability is not related to his service-connected disabilities and medication.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's below the left knee amputation is secondary to his service-connected lumbar spine disability. The case will be returned for further development.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran's below the left knee amputation is not related to his service-connected diabetes mellitus and therefore denied the claim for service connection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran seeks service connection for a below the left knee amputation as secondary to his service-connected diabetes mellitus. The Board has ordered a remand due to incomplete medical opinions and requires a new VA examination to determine if the Veteran's service-connected diabetes mellitus aggravated his peripheral vascular disease, leading to the left leg amputation.
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