The Veteran's claim for automobile or other conveyance and adaptive equipment is remanded due to conflicting medical records regarding the presence of left foot drop, which could affect eligibility. Additional VA evaluations are needed to clarify this issue.
The deciding factor: Conflicting clinical documentation about whether the Veteran has left foot drop or permanent loss of use of the left foot complicates the determination of eligibility for the benefit.
- Claimed conditions
- cervical spine arthritis, right upper extremity radiculopathy, left upper extremity radiculopathy, right shoulder arthritis, right wrist arthritis, right hand arthritis, left shoulder arthritis, left wrist Kienbock's avascular necrosis with arthritis, left thumb fracture residuals, lumbosacral spine arthritis, right lower extremity radiculopathy, left lower extremity radiculopathy, right knee arthritis, left knee arthritis, right ankle arthritis, left ankle arthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 14, 2020
- Citation
- 20002903
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including prostate cancer and related disabilities, urinary incontinence, sleep apnea, hypertension, varicose veins, lumbar spine disability, hip arthritis, shoulder arthritis, ankle arthritis, knee strain, knee replacement, and hand arthritis. The only condition granted was a 10 percent rating for a fracture of the right proximal first metacarpal.
- Partly granted
The Board granted earlier effective dates for TDIU and DEA, but denied increased ratings for various service-connected conditions.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 20 percent disability rating for left and right lower extremity radiculopathy from April 3, 2023 onward, but denied higher ratings prior to that date. Service connection was also granted for alcohol use disorder as secondary to PTSD with traumatic brain injury.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for the veteran's claimed conditions, including right shoulder arthritis, left shoulder arthritis, right hip condition, left hip condition, low back disability, and bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy, as there was no evidence of in-service injury or illness related to these conditions.
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