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
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.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's service connection for left shoulder strain, labral tear, acromioclavicular joint osteoarthritis, and tendinitis was granted, while the effective date prior to November 11, 2023, for migraine headaches was denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the Veteran's claim for service connection for a right shoulder disability to obtain a medical opinion regarding whether it is related to his service-connected left shoulder disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remanded the claim for a higher disability rating for the veteran's right shoulder condition. The VA needs to conduct another examination to assess the severity of the condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a medical opinion on whether plantar fasciitis was aggravated by active duty training.
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