The Veteran's claims for compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 are remanded due to the need for additional medical opinions regarding whether his surgeries and post-surgical care resulted in additional disabilities, as well as an evaluation of fault on VA's part.
The deciding factor: The Board finds that new medical opinions are necessary to determine if the Veteran experienced additional disability caused by or related to his two surgeries performed at a VA facility in October 2017 and whether any such additional disability was proximately caused by carelessness, negligence, lack of proper skill, error in judgment, or similar instance of fault on the part of VA.
- Claimed conditions
- Left leg, Right leg, Left knee, Right knee, Bilateral foot, Swollen testicle, Skin disability involving the feet, legs, knees and scrotum, Unspecified depressive disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 8, 2026
- Citation
- A26032086
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 A26032086.
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 case due to inadequate VA examination and opinion regarding service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD. The Veteran's claim is also being considered for secondary service connection of his psychiatric disorder to a service-connected left knee disability.
- Denied
The Board found that the reduction of the Veteran's VA compensation benefits to a 5% rate effective November 1, 2016 was proper due to his incarceration for more than 60 days following conviction of a felony offense. The appeal is denied.
- Granted
The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, characterized as PTSD and other specified trauma and stressor related disorder, was granted service connection. The effective date for the right elbow scar ratings is set at December 17, 2018.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including his bilateral lower extremity neuropathy due to diabetes mellitus, have resulted in loss of use of both lower extremities. The Board has granted eligibility for specially adapted housing and dismissed the claim for a special home adaptation grant as moot.
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