The veteran's claim for automobile and adaptive equipment or adaptive equipment only was remanded for further development, as the evidence is unclear regarding the extent of his foot impairment and its relation to his service-connected degenerative disc disease in his lower back.
The deciding factor: Further medical examination is needed to determine if the veteran has loss or permanent loss of use of one or both feet, and whether such loss is related to his service-connected condition.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disc disease in his lower back, Foot drop
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 13, 2009
- Citation
- 0909528
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,020 · 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 0909528.
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 Veteran's nerve injury with foot drop resulting from a right total hip replacement performed at a VA facility in April 2015 is not service-connected under the provisions of 38 U.S.C. § 1151 due to lack of evidence showing carelessness, negligence, or similar instance of fault on the part of VA.
- Denied
The Board denied compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for a left leg and/or foot disorder, including foot drop and swelling, caused by VA treatment during the Veteran's March 2012 total knee replacement surgery.
- Denied
The Veteran's right foot disorder, including nerve damage and foot drop, is not considered to be caused by VA treatment. Therefore, compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for a right foot disorder is denied.
- Denied
The Board found that the Veteran's current right ankle disability with foot drop was not incurred in or aggravated during service and denied his claim for service connection.
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