The Veteran's right shoulder condition is found to be a pre-existing disability, and the Board requests an addendum opinion from the March 2016 examiner to consider the impact of the Veteran's recreational activities on his pre-existing condition.
The deciding factor: The examiner needs to provide a rationale for whether the Veteran’s pre-existing right shoulder condition was aggravated by service beyond its natural progression, considering the Veteran's reported recreational activities during deployment.
- Claimed conditions
- labral tear, SLAP (Superior labral anterior-posterior lesion)
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 24, 2019
- Citation
- 19105955
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,456 · 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 19105955.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has found that the current medical opinion is inadequate and the record is incomplete without other opinions. The Veteran's left shoulder disorder may be related to service, but a VA examination is needed to determine if it was caused by or aggravated by his service-connected right shoulder disorder.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed all appeals related to temporary total disability ratings for shoulder disabilities and the award of TDIU with an effective date prior to March 25, 2015.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a labral tear, including SLAP, acromioclavicular joint osteoarthritis, and glenohumeral joint dislocation status post right shoulder labral repair with a remplissage procedure. The decision finds that the Veteran's pre-existing right shoulder condition was aggravated by his service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 20 percent for his right shoulder disability is being remanded due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
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