The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for peripheral neuropathy of the upper and lower extremities as secondary to type 2 diabetes mellitus due to lack of a current diagnosis of diabetic neuropathy.
The deciding factor: The VA examination was inadequate in providing a rationale that harmonizes the lack of a formal diagnosis with the multiple mentions of diabetic neuropathy in the Veteran's record.
- Claimed conditions
- right lower extremity (RLE) peripheral neuropathy, left lower extremity (LLE) peripheral neuropathy, right upper extremity (RUE) peripheral neuropathy, left upper extremity (LUE) peripheral neuropathy
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 21, 2024
- Citation
- 24008682
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 24008682.
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 Veteran's SMC(l) was granted based on his service-connected prostate cancer, metastatic cancer of the back, ribs, and pelvis, and metastatic cancer of the lymphatic system. The Board found that he has additional disabilities independently ratable at 50 percent or more, including RUE peripheral neuropathy, diabetes with erectile dysfunction, LLE peripheral neuropathy, sciatic nerve, RLE peripheral neuropathy, femoral nerve, left knee arthritis, right knee arthritis, and right clavicle fracture residuals. The Veteran is now entitled to SMC(m 1/2) based on these additional disabilities.
- Granted
The Veteran's migraines, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), and peripheral neuropathy in both lower extremities are granted service connection effective October 5, 2016.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral lower and upper extremity peripheral neuropathy, finding no current diagnosis of these conditions in the record.
- Denied
The Veteran's service connection claims for various conditions were denied. A rating of 100 percent was granted for schizophrenia, effective October 28, 2019.
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