The veteran's claims for service connection for degenerative changes of the low back and left shoulder pain due to tendonitis are being remanded for further development, including a more thorough examination with etiology opinions based on a claims file review.
The deciding factor: Further evidence is needed to determine the nature and etiology of the veteran's claimed conditions, as the prior VA examination did not provide conclusive information regarding their relationship to service.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative changes of the low back, Left shoulder pain due to tendonitis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 17, 2008
- Citation
- 0812732
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,547 · Granted: 20% (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 0812732.
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 found that the Veteran's current low back disability did not have onset in service and was not caused by his active military service, thus denying his claim for service connection.
- Granted
The veteran's service-connected disabilities effectively preclude locomotion without the aid of braces, crutches, canes, or a wheelchair. The Board grants entitlement to a certificate of eligibility for specially adapted housing.
- Partly granted
The veteran's initial rating for degenerative changes of the low back was increased to 40 percent disabling as of August 10, 2005.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
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