The Veteran's claim for compensation under the provisions of 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for lymphedema of the lower extremities is remanded due to a lack of an addendum opinion addressing whether his additional disability was proximately caused by VA carelessness, negligence, or similar fault.
The deciding factor: The Board found that an addendum opinion is needed to address whether the Veteran's additional disability (bilateral lower extremity lymphedema) was caused or made worse by the VA RPP surgery performed on September 27, 2011.
- Claimed conditions
- Lymphedema of the lower extremities
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 12, 2020
- Citation
- 20053608
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 20053608.
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 Veteran's claim for compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 due to lymphedema of the lower extremities resulting from a prostatectomy at the Detroit VAMC was denied as there is no evidence that the surgery caused the condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's lymphedema of the lower extremities is being remanded for further evaluation due to insufficient medical opinions regarding causation and fault.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
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