The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's below the left knee amputation is secondary to his service-connected lumbar spine disability. The case will be returned for further development.
The deciding factor: The VA medical opinion provided does not adequately address the theory that back surgeries and medications caused or aggravated the Veteran’s ischemic left lower extremity, including whether they are proximately due to or aggravated by his service-connected back disability.
- Claimed conditions
- Below the left knee amputation, Left lower extremity blood clots
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 1, 2020
- Citation
- 20022654
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 20022654.
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 the Veteran's claim for service connection for below the left knee amputation, finding that there was no evidence of a chronic condition in service or within the applicable presumptive period. The Board also found that the current disability is not related to his service-connected disabilities and medication.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran's below the left knee amputation is not related to his service-connected diabetes mellitus and therefore denied the claim for service connection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran seeks service connection for a below the left knee amputation as secondary to his service-connected diabetes mellitus. The Board has ordered a remand due to incomplete medical opinions and requires a new VA examination to determine if the Veteran's service-connected diabetes mellitus aggravated his peripheral vascular disease, leading to the left leg amputation.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board previously denied the veteran's claim for compensation under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151 due to a below-the-left-knee amputation caused by VA medical treatment in December 1999. The Court has now remanded the case back to the Board for further proceedings consistent with the Secretary's Motion for Remand.
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