The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral lower and upper extremities have been denied. The right hand and left hand peripheral neuropathy are each rated at 20 percent, while the right and left lower extremity peripheral neuropathy remain at 20 percent.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence did not establish that the Veteran's peripheral neuropathy resulted in moderately severe incomplete paralysis of any nerve in the lower extremities to warrant higher ratings. The upper extremities' peripheral neuropathy was rated under Diagnostic Code 8514, which provides for a maximum rating of 20 percent.
- Claimed conditions
- Right lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, Left lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, Right hand peripheral neuropathy, Left hand peripheral neuropathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- October 22, 2019
- Citation
- 19179943
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,549 · Granted: 26% (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 19179943.
What this means for you
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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 and DEA claims are remanded due to duty-to-assist errors prior to the rating decision on review. The effective date for TDIU is set at January 31, 2021, based on the last day of employment. However, the RO needs to obtain SSA records regarding earnings from July 2020 to January 31, 2021, to determine if the Veteran's employment was marginal.
- Granted
The rating reduction from 20 percent to 10 percent for the service-connected right lower extremity peripheral neuropathy was improper, and restoration of the 20 percent rating is granted. The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for the right lower extremity peripheral neuropathy is denied.
- Granted
The Veteran's disability ratings for right and left upper extremity peripheral neuropathy, as well as right and left lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, were restored to their previous levels of 70%, 60%, 30%, and 30% respectively, effective from February 12, 2025.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected right and left lower extremity peripheral neuropathy are rated at 10 percent each. The Board denied entitlement to an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for both conditions.
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