The Veteran's claims for compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 and special monthly compensation based on the need for regular aid and attendance or at the housebound rate are being remanded due to the complexity of the issues, requiring an independent medical expert opinion from an orthopedic surgeon.
The deciding factor: The claims involve complex medical issues that require a specialized medical opinion to determine if additional disability was caused by VA carelessness, negligence, lack of proper skill, error in judgment or similar instance of fault.
- Claimed conditions
- residuals of cervical fusion, right lower extremity weakness, left lower extremity weakness
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 2, 2020
- Citation
- 20000271
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,062 · Granted: 34% (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 20000271.
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 Board has determined that additional medical opinions are needed to address the Veteran's claims for service connection related to his bilateral hips, lumbar disability, and lower extremity radiculopathy. The appeals are being remanded.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for sleep disability, higher initial ratings for left lower extremity weakness and speech (aphonia) and swallowing difficulties, and an increased rating for thrombosis, transient ischemic attack with left upper extremity weakness due to outstanding private treatment records and inadequate examination reports.
- Partly granted
The Board denied a rating in excess of 40 percent for myasthenia gravis with ptosis and remanded the ratings for avascular necrosis, hip flexion limitations, and lower extremity weakness.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for several conditions effective April 16, 2007, but no earlier, and denied a rating in excess of 30 percent for constipation. SMC based on the need for aid and attendance was granted from August 30, 2013.
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