The Veteran's claim for neuropathy of the lower extremities, claimed as secondary to his service-connected diabetes, is being remanded due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the etiology and nature of any current neurological disabilities.
The deciding factor: VA must consider both entitlement to service connection as secondary to any pertinent service-connected disease or injury raised by the record, as well as on a direct basis.
- Claimed conditions
- neuropathy of right lower extremity, neuropathy of left lower extremity
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 18, 2012
- Citation
- 1221138
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 1221138.
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 earlier effective dates for the grants of service connection and special monthly compensation, as well as ratings for various conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's tinnitus and left ear hearing loss are granted as service-connected.,Service connection for diabetes mellitus type II, cataracts, neuropathy of the lower extremities, heart condition, hypertension, and kidney condition is remanded due to a duty-to-assist error.
- Granted
The Veteran's service connection claims for various conditions have been granted. The rating issues related to his knees and lower extremities, as well as his left eye disabilities, are remanded.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for lumbar paravertebral myositis was denied, and service connection for neuropathy of the left lower extremity was dismissed. The Veteran received a 20% rating from May 13, 2003 to February 9, 2007, but his claim for higher ratings beyond this period is not supported by the evidence.
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