The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims of service connection for generalized arthritis condition, left shoulder arthritis, right shoulder arthritis, and back condition due to inadequate examinations that did not address whether his service-connected frostbite residuals caused or aggravated these conditions.
The deciding factor: The VA examiners did not provide an opinion regarding whether the Veteran’s service-connected frostbite residuals produced gait problems that impacted his back or shoulder, or whether his various arthritic conditions have been aggravated by his frostbite residuals or resulting pain and arthralgia.
- Claimed conditions
- generalized arthritis condition, left shoulder arthritis, right shoulder arthritis, back condition
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 29, 2018
- Citation
- 18154302
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 18154302.
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 Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a back condition, including degenerative disc disease and scoliosis, due to lack of current disability evidence.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection for sleep apnea has been dismissed due to the withdrawal of his request.,Service connection for a back condition is denied as there is no evidence that the condition began during service or is related to an in-service injury, event, or disease.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to predecisional duty-to-assist errors, including inadequate medical opinions and missed VA examinations. The Veteran's claim for service connection for a back condition is being returned to the RO for further action.
- Denied
The Veteran's appeal for special monthly compensation and service connection was denied due to a late filing of the Board Appeal request.
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