The Veteran's claims for increased rating and service connection are being remanded due to the need for additional examinations and opinions regarding his cervical spine disability and left shoulder disorder.
The deciding factor: The VA needs to provide a thorough examination of the Veteran's current cervical spine and left shoulder conditions, including assessing their severity and etiology. The examiner must also determine if there is aggravation by the service-connected cervical spine condition.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative Joint Disease of the Cervical Spine, Left Shoulder Disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 19, 2018
- Citation
- 1803560
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 1803560.
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.
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The Board denied service connection for chronic fatigue syndrome, gastroesophageal reflux disease, and chronic sinusitis. However, it granted an increased disability rating of 30 percent for left upper extremity radiculopathy.
- Partly granted
The Board denied an initial rating in excess of 50 percent for PTSD and service connection for depression, but granted service connection for a left shoulder disorder.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's GERD was granted a 60 percent disability rating, and the June 15, 2020 VA Form 10182 for service connection claims was accepted as timely due to good cause shown.
- Partly granted
The Board denied entitlement to a rating in excess of 30 percent for irritable bowel syndrome and a compensable rating for left ear hearing loss, granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea as secondary to PTSD and unspecified depressive disorder, and denied service connection for various other disorders.
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