The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for service connection for left shoulder strain and cervical spine strain due to inadequate VA examinations. The Veteran must be provided with new, adequate VA examinations.
The deciding factor: The previous VA examination opinions were based on insufficient evidence and did not consider the Veteran’s lay statements regarding his symptoms and history of injuries during service.
- Claimed conditions
- Left Shoulder Strain, Cervical Spine Strain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 11, 2018
- Citation
- 18141581
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 18141581.
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 Board granted an effective date of December 1, 1984 for the awards of service connection for IBS, bilateral shoulder strain, bilateral elbow tendinopathy, limitation of bilateral forearm supination, and bilateral knee patellofemoral pain syndrome.
- Granted
The Board granted an effective date of July 11, 2023, for the grant of service connection for PTSD, migraines, a bilateral shoulder disability, a low back disability, and bilateral knee disability.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for multiple conditions, including IBS, somatic symptom disorder, lumbar degenerative disc disease, and various radiculopathies and strains, finding that these conditions are related to the Veteran's military service or secondary to a service-connected disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for increased ratings and a TDIU due to service-connected disabilities for further development, including obtaining contemporaneous VA examinations.
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