The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for left shoulder, cervical spine, and spine disabilities as well as his hearing loss. The Veteran will be scheduled for VA examinations to assess the severity of these conditions and determine if there is additional functional loss during flare-ups. His TDIU claim will also be referred to the Director of Compensation Service for consideration.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the most recent VA examinations did not comply with Correia v. McDonald, 28 Vet. App. 158 (2016), and thus ordered new VA examinations to correct deficiencies in range of motion testing.
- Claimed conditions
- acromioclavicular osteoarthritis of the left shoulder, DDD of the cervical spine, degenerative arthritis of the spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 23, 2018
- Citation
- 18104397
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 18104397.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal was dismissed due to their death during the pendency of the appeal.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for degenerative arthritis of the spine was granted. The claims for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea and residuals of head injuries and concussions are remanded.
- Denied
The Veteran's appeal for earlier effective date for Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA) prior to August 8, 2024, and dependency benefits from June 1, 2025, to August 8, 2025, for the school-aged child are both denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to errors in obtaining relevant treatment records and inadequate VA medical opinions regarding secondary service connection.
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