The Board has determined that the Veteran's claims for service connection of disabilities of the bilateral lower extremities require additional development due to pre-decisional duty to assist errors. The case is being remanded to provide an appropriate VA examination and obtain necessary medical opinions.
The deciding factor: The claim was submitted in January 2020, but the Board found that sufficient evidence regarding current diagnoses of disabilities of the bilateral lower extremities and their relationship to service-connected thoracolumbar spine rheumatoid arthritis spondyloarthropathy is lacking. The Veteran's disability may be separate from his service-connected condition.
- Claimed conditions
- Left Lower Extremity Disability, Right Lower Extremity Disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 12, 2026
- Citation
- A26013618
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 A26013618.
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 claim for an earlier effective date of March 25, 2019, for the 100% evaluation of Major Depressive Disorder is granted. The Veteran's claim for TDIU is denied as she was not found to be unemployable due to her service-connected disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's disability ratings for his left and right lower extremity disabilities were improperly reduced, and the VA has been ordered to restore the original ratings.,The Veteran's back disability was also remanded due to insufficient evidence of improvement.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection and rating issues related to his right shoulder, left lower extremity, and knee disabilities due to inadequate evaluations in prior decisions. The Veteran is required to provide VA with private healthcare provider records and all relevant VA treatment records. He also needs a VA examination for his right shoulder and left lower extremity disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to new evidence and inconsistencies in previous decisions. The Veteran is required to provide authorization for VA to obtain his Social Security Administration records, as well as undergo examinations to determine the nature and etiology of various disabilities.
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