The Veteran's right shoulder, left knee, and lumbar spine disabilities are being remanded for additional examinations to determine their current severity.
The deciding factor: The VA examinations conducted thus far do not meet the specifications of Correia (38 C.F.R. § 4.59) as they did not include testing for pain on both active and passive motion, in weight-bearing and non-weight-bearing.
- Claimed conditions
- rotator cuff tendinopathy, right shoulder, arthritis of the acromioclavicular joint, biceps tendonitis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 8, 2019
- Citation
- 19110271
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,088 · Granted: 33% (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 19110271.
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 right shoulder disability, including rotator cuff tendinopathy, arthritis of the acromioclavicular joint, and biceps tendonitis, is rated at 30 percent since February 1, 2020. The rating is denied as it does not meet the criteria for a higher rating.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for lumbar spine foraminal narrowing at L4-5 and total disability based on individual unemployability (TDIU) prior to due to incomplete development. The Veteran is currently shown to have multiple service-connected disabilities, but his combined rating does not meet the schedular criteria for TDIU.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for left shoulder impingement syndrome and bilateral ankle instability, finding that these conditions are related to the Veteran's military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the etiology of the Veteran's right shoulder disability. A new opinion is needed from an appropriate examiner.
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