The Board has remanded the claims for right and left lower extremity paralysis due to heart surgery, as the October 2021 VA etiology opinion is not sufficient. The Veteran needs new opinions from a medical professional regarding carelessness, negligence, or similar instances of fault during the June 2021 atrial fibrillation ablation.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the existing VA etiology opinion does not sufficiently address whether the heart surgery caused additional disabilities and is remanding for further clarification.
- Claimed conditions
- Right lower extremity paralysis, Left lower extremity paralysis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 19, 2024
- Citation
- A24047564
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 A24047564.
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 entitlement to higher disability ratings for residuals of ischemic stroke, specifically left lower extremity and left upper extremity paralysis, is granted starting from June 23, 2020. The initial rating was 100 percent until December 2020, then reduced to 10 percent. Higher initial ratings are now granted for the left upper and lower extremities under DCs 8514 and 8520 respectively.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal was dismissed due to his death while the case was pending before the Board.
- 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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