The Veteran's loss of use of the left leg is being remanded due to a duty to assist error in June 2020, and the Board cannot determine if it was caused by VA treatment without further medical opinion.
The deciding factor: The claim must be remanded to obtain an adequate medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's loss of use of the left leg was caused by carelessness, negligence, or lack of proper skill on the part of VA personnel in providing the lumbar epidural steroid injection in June 2018.
- Claimed conditions
- loss of use of the left leg
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 25, 2024
- Citation
- A24013940
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 A24013940.
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 Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for diabetes mellitus, obstructive sleep apnea, urinary incontinence, erectile dysfunction, loss of use of the left leg, and loss of use of the right leg due to insufficient evidence regarding their etiology. The Veteran is also being asked to provide a VA examination to determine the current severity of his asthma.
- Granted
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection were granted, with a noncompensable rating assigned for sinusitis effective May 15, 2006. The Veteran was also granted service connection for various disabilities including radiculopathy of the upper extremities, right wrist disability, left knee disability, right arm disability, right knee disability, sciatic nerve disability, and lumbar spine disability.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for various disabilities, including those related to his cervical and lumbar spine conditions. The appeals were based on direct evidence rather than a presumption or secondary service connection.
- Denied
The Board has reopened the claim for service connection, but finds that there is no competent medical evidence showing a nexus between the veteran's current back disability and his service-connected major depressive disorder. Therefore, the claim is denied.
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