The Veteran's service-connected disabilities resulted in loss of use of both feet, and an effective date of March 13, 2019, for the award of special monthly compensation (SMC) on account of loss of use of both feet is granted. However, the remanded issue is to find earlier effective dates.
The deciding factor: The effective date was assigned based on a VA examination dated May 15, 2019, but the key question is when the entitlement to the benefit arose, which requires obtaining outstanding relevant treatment records.
- Claimed conditions
- Loss of use of both feet
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 50%
- Decision date
- September 12, 2024
- Citation
- A24055581
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 A24055581.
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 a higher level of SMC and SMC based on loss of use of the lower extremities due to duty-to-assist errors, lack of sufficient medical evidence, and inextricably intertwined issues.
- Granted
The Veteran is granted an effective date of June 26, 2015 for the award of service connection and SMC based on loss of use of both feet.
- Granted
The Veteran's SMC was granted at the intermediate level between 38 U.S.C. § 1114(m) and (n) due to additional disabilities including peripheral neuropathies, tinnitus, hearing loss, and lymphoma.
- Granted
The Board has granted effective dates of February 11, 2020 for service connection of loss of use of both hands and feet as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected Parkinson's disease.
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