The Board has determined that the evidence is in equipoise as to whether the Veteran's current peripheral vascular disease of the lower extremities with resulting amputations is related to his service-connected heart disability. As a result, the claim for service connection is granted.
The deciding factor: The medical opinions provided are evenly balanced and support the conclusion that the Veteran's peripheral vascular disease was caused by his service-connected ischemic heart disease.
- Claimed conditions
- Peripheral Vascular Disease of the Lower Extremities, Amputation
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 11, 2014
- Citation
- 1440634
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 1440634.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for higher evaluations for his peripheral vascular disease are remanded due to insufficient medical evidence and the need for a new examination.
- Denied
The Veteran's DM II with related complications, including erectile dysfunction, peripheral vascular disease of the lower extremities, onychomycosis and bilateral cataracts, is currently rated at 20 percent. The ratings for left and right lower extremity neuropathy are also denied.
- Denied
The Board found that the Veteran's additional disability was not proximately due to carelessness, negligence, lack of proper skill, error in judgment, or similar instance of fault on the part of VA healthcare providers during his surgeries. The event causing the disability (infection and non-healing wound) was not reasonably foreseeable.
- Denied
The Board found that the Veteran's peripheral vascular disease was not caused by or aggravated by his service-connected diabetes mellitus, and thus denied both claims. The issue of secondary service connection for diabetes causing peripheral vascular disease is mixed.
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