The Board remands the claim for an additional VA examination to determine if the Veteran has additional disability due to a December 2012 surgery and whether such disability was caused by fault on the part of VA.
The deciding factor: The February 2023 VA medical opinion is found inadequate as it did not address the Veteran's assertions or the December 14, 2012, procedure.
- Claimed conditions
- unauthorized surgery, small intestinal submucosa (SIS) graft, with uncontrolled bleeding, E. coli, and infection, urethra injury, prostate gland injury, penile deformity, pain, cellulitis, abscess, trauma, non-healing surgical wound
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 17, 2025
- Citation
- A25035781
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 service connection for various conditions, including left foot condition, right foot condition, cellulitis, right ear hearing loss, and right lower extremity radiculopathy. The appeal of the proposal to reduce a 40 percent evaluation for lumbosacral strain was dismissed.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a liver biopsy residuals, to include pain, under 38 USC § 1151 due to deficiencies in the previous VA examination and lack of an associated consent form.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection due to a failure by the VA contractor to provide an examination at a time when the Veteran could attend.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for cellulitis, finding that the evidence is at least in relative equipoise regarding whether the Veteran's condition is related to his service.
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