The veteran's TDIU claim is being remanded for clarification of the examiner's opinion regarding whether his service-connected disabilities alone are sufficient to preclude him from obtaining or maintaining employment.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner needs to provide a clear opinion on whether the veteran's service-connected disabilities, without considering non-service-connected conditions or advancing age, are sufficient by themselves to prevent him from securing and following any substantially gainful occupation.
- Claimed conditions
- recurrent postoperative dislocation of the right shoulder with painful limited motion and degenerative changes, residuals of status post operative recurrent dislocation of the left shoulder, right shoulder scar, left shoulder scar
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 11, 2008
- Citation
- 0842641
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 0842641.
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 service-connected disabilities have prevented him from securing and maintaining substantially gainful employment since June 30, 2018. The Board has granted a TDIU effective July 1, 2018.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has identified several duty-to-assist errors and is remanding the claims for service connection due to incomplete medical records, lack of proper notification, and inadequate examinations.
- Granted
The Veteran's prescribed topical skin medication, triamcinolone cream, caused irreparable damage to his clothing and the Board granted a clothing allowance for 2020 based on this.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected conditions do not meet the criteria for specially adapted housing or a special home adaptation grant due to his inability to use assistive devices and his ability to independently ambulate.
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