The Board has reopened the veteran's claim of service connection for back disability, including lumbar neuralgia and right/left foot drop. The case is remanded to obtain additional medical records and conduct further examination to determine appropriate rating and service connection.
The deciding factor: New evidence received since final denial supports reopening of the service connection claim but more information is needed regarding current functional status and proper disability ratings.
- Claimed conditions
- left thigh shrapnel wound with retained foreign body, back disability (lumbar neuralgia), right foot drop, left foot drop
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 14, 2004
- Citation
- 0412597
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 292 · Granted: 21% (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 0412597.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for the Veteran's lumbar spine herniated disc, left lower extremity radiculopathy, and left foot drop due to a delay in VA providing timely neurosurgical care.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to issues related to a TDIU and an increased evaluation for left Achilles tendonitis. The Veteran's service-connected conditions have rendered her unable to work during certain periods, but further review is needed.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for right foot drop as secondary to the service-connected lumbosacral spine condition. The claims for right ankle, right knee, and left knee conditions are remanded.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection, finding no evidence of current conditions or residuals that would warrant higher ratings.
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