The VA denied the Veteran's claims for compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 and TDIU due to his left hip arthroplasty, finding no evidence of negligence or carelessness on the part of VA in causing his symptoms.
The deciding factor: VA found that while nerve damage was a known complication of hip replacement surgery, there was no evidence of negligence or error during the Veteran's procedure and informed consent forms were signed prior to the operation.
- Claimed conditions
- neuropathy of the left leg, sciatica, peroneal nerve palsy, sciatic nerve palsy, foot drop
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 24, 2020
- Citation
- 20005985
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,435 · Granted: 22% (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 20005985.
What this means for you
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for TDIU is being remanded due to a duty to assist error regarding her service-connected depression. She needs an examination to assess the impact of her depression on her ability to work.
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The Veteran's bilateral lower extremity disabilities, including sciatica, are granted on a secondary basis to his service-connected back disability. The Board found that the evidence is in equipoise as to whether the Veteran has been unable to secure or follow gainful employment due to his service-connected disabilities.
- Granted
The Veteran's right foot disability, including arthritis, osteoporosis, foot drop, neuropathy, difficult gait, and tinea pedis, was incurred during service and continues to this day.
- Granted
The Veteran's left ankle foot orthosis (AFO) is reasonably shown to have caused wear and tear to his clothing in 2023, leading to a grant of an annual VA clothing allowance.,The Veteran's shoe orthotics are not shown to have caused wear and tear to his clothing during 2023. Therefore, the claim for this item was denied.
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