The Veteran's left shoulder disability is rated at 20 percent, and the Board has decided to remand this case for further examination and evaluation.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner could not provide an opinion regarding functional loss due to flare-ups or repeated use over time without resorting to speculation.
- Claimed conditions
- left shoulder strain, degenerative joint disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 23, 2019
- Citation
- A19003792
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,757 · Granted: 23% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 A19003792.
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 claim for an evaluation in excess of 40 percent for his lumbar spine disability has been denied. The Board found that the evidence did not meet the criteria for a higher rating, as there was no unfavorable ankylosis or incapacitating episodes of IVDS.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's hypertension, left shoulder strain, and right shoulder disability are all granted as service-connected.,The Veteran is also remanded for a rating in excess of 10 percent for degenerative arthritis of the spine and for service connection for sleep apnea.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient medical opinions and a need for additional examination.
- Denied
The Veteran's initial 10% disability rating for left shoulder strain was upheld as there was no clear and unmistakable error in the September 2010 Rating Decision.
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