The veteran's appeal is being remanded to determine if he has service-connected peripheral neuropathy of the lower extremities that is secondary to his service-connected back disability, and whether this condition, along with left foot drop, precludes him from locomotion without the aid of braces, crutches, canes, or a wheelchair. The veteran also seeks specially adapted housing or special home adaptation grant.
The deciding factor: The Board finds that VA's duty to assist requires a further examination to determine if the veteran's peripheral neuropathy is related to his service-connected back disability and whether it affects his ability to locomote without assistance.
- Claimed conditions
- chronic lumbosacral strain with L4-5, L5-S1 herniated disc and postoperative laminectomy, left foot drop
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 14, 2005
- Citation
- 0503830
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,514 · Granted: 19% (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 0503830.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for right and left foot drop, granted service connection for a right shoulder strain, and denied service connection for TBI. The claim for TDIU was dismissed.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for left foot drop, finding that it was secondary to the Veteran's service-connected ischemic cerebrovascular accident (stroke) residuals.
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