The Board has remanded the claims for compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 due to insufficient evidence in the file regarding the cause of the Veteran's complications from the February 2015 surgery, including a dural tear and damage to the thecal sac.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the December 2020 VA medical opinion was insufficient as it did not address key documents such as the dural tear during the surgery and findings in the April 2015 Institutional Disclosure memorandum regarding the prosthetic device causing damage to the thecal sac.
- Claimed conditions
- paraplegia of the bilateral lower extremities, loss of bowel control, loss of bladder control, additional disability of the lumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 27, 2021
- Citation
- 21065925
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 21065925.
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.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including loss of bowel control and multilevel spondylosis, have resulted in a need for regular aid and attendance. The claim is granted subject to the laws governing payment of monetary benefits.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the claim for entitlement to service connection for prostate cancer and denied earlier effective dates for the awards of service connection for loss of use of the bilateral lower legs and loss of bladder control.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for erectile dysfunction, loss of bowel control, and loss of bladder control as they were not caused by carelessness, negligence, lack of proper skill, error in judgment, or similar instances of fault on the part of VA.
- Granted
The Veteran's left and right lower extremity radiculopathies, sciatic nerve, are each granted a 40 percent rating.,Service connection for loss of bladder control and loss of bowel control is granted as secondary to service-connected low back disability and gastritis with irritable bowel syndrome.
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