The Veteran's claim for service connection for diabetic neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities has been remanded due to a lack of VA examination addressing an EMG note that does not detect small fiber disease such as can be seen in diabetic neuropathy.
The deciding factor: The Board cannot make a fully informed decision without an examination addressing the limitations of the November 2014 EMG note regarding diabetic neuropathy.
- Claimed conditions
- diabetic neuropathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 8, 2019
- Citation
- 19101845
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,104 · Granted: 28% (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 19101845.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's TDIU claim is remanded due to insufficient examination addressing all aspects of his service-connected diabetes mellitus, including diabetic neuropathy.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities, finding that his service-connected conditions do not preclude him from securing or following substantially gainful employment.
- Granted
The Board found that the appellant is eligible to receive fees from past due benefits awarded in the portion of the June 2024 rating decision granting higher ratings for bilateral upper and lower extremity diabetic neuropathy. The appeal was denied regarding eligibility for fees related to a chest scar rating.
- Denied
The Veteran's increased rating for diabetes and separate ratings for diabetic neuropathy of the femoral nerves were denied in a May 2024 rating decision. The appellant is not entitled to agent fees based on past-due benefits awarded in this decision.
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