The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for left and right lower extremity restless leg syndrome due to insufficient medical opinion regarding whether these conditions are secondary to his service-connected panic disorder, generalized anxiety, major depressive disorder, lumbosacral spine disability, bilateral lower extremity sciatic and femoral nerve radiculopathy, knee disabilities, or medications used to treat these conditions.
The deciding factor: The Board found the July 2022 VA examination inadequate as it did not apply the 'but-for' analysis required for secondary service connection and failed to provide an opinion on whether the Veteran's service-connected lumbosacral spine, bilateral lower extremity sciatic and femoral nerve radiculopathy, knee disabilities, or medications could cause or aggravate his restless leg syndrome.
- Claimed conditions
- left lower extremity restless leg syndrome, right lower extremity restless leg syndrome
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 7, 2024
- Citation
- A24073181
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 835 · Granted: 22% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 A24073181.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for left shoulder rotator cuff tendinosis, left lower extremity restless leg syndrome, right lower extremity restless leg syndrome, and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) as due to an undiagnosed illness. The evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were related to her military service.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for left and right leg disabilities, as well as for restless leg syndromes in both legs. The reasons given include lack of evidence linking these conditions to service or secondary to a service-connected condition.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including migraine headaches and their secondary effects. The evidence does not support a finding that these conditions were aggravated by military service.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for several conditions, including a back condition, left lower extremity radiculopathy, chronic fatigue syndrome, and migraine headaches, among others. It also granted increased ratings for PTSD and moderate, recurrent, major depressive disorder with anxious distress.
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