The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral lower extremity disabilities, including radiculopathy and neuropathy, due to a right shin and foot injury in service. The claim is also remanded for a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss. An addendum VA examination is needed to determine if the Veteran’s bilateral lower extremity conditions are related to herbicide agent exposure. A VA examination is also required to assess the current severity of his service-connected bilateral hearing loss.
The deciding factor: The Board found that an addendum to the April 2018 VA examination was warranted to determine the etiology of the Veteran’s bilateral lower extremity disabilities, including radiculopathy and neuropathy. The examiner must reconcile conflicting medical opinions in file and consider a medical article submitted by the Veteran.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral lower extremity disabilities, rhabdomyolysis (right shin and foot injury), neuropathy
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 8, 2020
- Citation
- 20065710
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,429 · Granted: 29% (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 20065710.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for SMC based on loss of use of both lower extremities is being remanded due to a failure to obtain relevant private medical records. The AOJ will consider these records when readjudicating the claim.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has found that the eligibility determination for the PCAFC was inadequate due to an insufficient medical opinion, and thus remanded for further review.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's TDIU claim is being remanded due to the need for additional evidence, including SSA disability records. The AOJ will consider the recent grants of service connection in conjunction with the TDIU application.
- Granted
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.
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