The Veteran's claim for automobile and adaptive equipment is denied as he does not meet the criteria for assistance due to his service-connected disabilities resulting in permanent loss of use of one or both feet.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's loss of use of the feet is attributed to nonservice-connected conditions, specifically a February 2013 stroke and diabetic neuropathy.
- Claimed conditions
- amputation of the bilateral small toes, peripheral neuropathy of the lower extremities, degenerative joint disease of the bilateral knees, cold weather injuries of the bilateral lower extremities
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 4, 2017
- Citation
- 1714738
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 1714738.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the cases of hearing loss and peripheral neuropathy of the lower extremities due to duty-to-assist errors. The Veteran's claims will be reconsidered with additional medical opinions.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for alcohol dependence and peripheral neuropathy of the lower extremities, both secondary to service-connected conditions.
- Dismissed
The veteran's appeal requests for extensions to file an appeal on various rating decisions were denied, and the attempted appeals are dismissed.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for bilateral lower extremity peripheral neuropathy due to in-service toxic exposure.
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