The Board has remanded the claims for right mid-thigh lower extremity amputation and automobile or other conveyance and adaptive equipment or adaptive equipment only due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their service connection.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner's opinion is inadequate as it does not address whether the Veteran’s right leg amputation was caused by or aggravated by his service-connected radiculopathy disabilities, which are necessary for determining service connection.
- Claimed conditions
- spondylolisthesis lumbar spine, intervertebral disc syndrome (IVDS), degenerative arthritis changes, right lower extremity radiculopathy, left lower extremity spondylolisthesis lumbar spine and IVDS with degenerative arthritis changes, erectile dysfunction spondylolisthesis lumbar spine and IVDS with degenerative arthritis changes
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 22, 2020
- Citation
- A20015882
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.
- Partly granted
The Board denied earlier effective dates for the grant of service connection and granted initial 40 percent ratings for left upper extremity CTS, right lower extremity radiculopathy, and left lower extremity radiculopathy.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's award of total disability based on individual unemployability (TDIU) is granted effective from April 15, 2017, solely based on his unspecified anxiety disorder. The claim for an earlier effective date for service connection for right lower extremity radiculopathy was denied.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) and special monthly compensation (SMC) housebound status, but dismissed the claims for initial ratings in excess of 40 percent for lumbosacral spine disability, left lower extremity radiculopathy, and right lower extremity radiculopathy.
- Partly granted
The Board granted initial disability ratings of 40 percent for right and left lower extremity radiculopathy, a 20 percent rating for lumbar spine disability, denied an increased rating for obstructive sleep apnea with asthma, granted TDIU from May 7, 2021, and SMC from September 10, 2021.
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