The Board remands the claims for service connection for right and left lower extremity disabilities due to inadequate medical opinions and lack of compliance with previous remand instructions.
The deciding factor: The medical opinion obtained is deemed inadequate as it does not provide a reasoned rationale connecting the medical findings to the conclusion, and VA was unable to obtain relevant private treatment records despite making reasonable efforts.
- Claimed conditions
- right lower extremity disability, left lower extremity disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 20, 2025
- Citation
- 25006842
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew the appeals for service connection for migraine headaches, right ankle disability, left lower extremity disability, and left thigh scar.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the issues of service connection for GERD, hepatitis, nausea, a stomach disability, strep throat, and bilateral hearing loss. The remaining issues are remanded for further development.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various disabilities, including alopecia, bilateral bunions, wrist and hip disabilities, knee and lower extremity disabilities, depression, back disability, cyst removal of the right hand, plantar fasciitis, and a heart murmur with palpitations, as there was no evidence of current diagnoses or that these conditions were incurred in or aggravated by service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the service connection claims for lung cancer, brain cancer, right upper extremity disability, and right lower extremity disability due to pre-decisional duty to assist errors.
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