The Board has decided that the Veteran's claims for increased ratings and TDIU are remanded due to inadequate examinations. The VA needs to obtain his medical records, conduct new examinations, and provide a thorough assessment of his shoulder conditions.
The deciding factor: The previous VA examinations were deemed insufficient by the Court in Correia v. McDonald (2016) and Sharp v. Shulkin (2018), requiring additional testing and information regarding joint pain during active and passive motion, as well as flare-ups.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative Joint Disease (DJD) of the left shoulder, Postoperative residuals from dislocation of the left shoulder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 13, 2018
- Citation
- 18134694
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 18134694.
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 Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not preclude him from securing and following substantially gainful employment.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for additional VA medical opinions to determine if the Veteran's current disabilities of the hips, shoulders, knees, and cervical spine are related to his active service.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed all claims for service connection due to the Veteran's withdrawal of his legacy appeals.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's PTSD rating is remanded for a new VA examination to assess the current severity of his condition. Service connection claims for left shoulder DJD and lower back pain are also remanded due to outstanding treatment records and need for medical opinions on etiology.
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