The Veteran's right shoulder, rotator cuff tear disability is being remanded for an adequate VA examination to assess the current severity of his condition.
The deciding factor: The VA examinations provided do not comply with the requirements in Correia v. McDonald, 28 Vet. App. 158 (2016), which mandates joint testing for pain on both active and passive motion, in weight-bearing and nonweight-bearing, and range of motion measurements of the opposite undamaged joint.
- Claimed conditions
- Right shoulder, rotator cuff tear
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 7, 2019
- Citation
- 19116258
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 19116258.
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 right shoulder disorder, including bicipital tendon tear, rotator cuff tear, and tendinosis, as there was no evidence of an in-service injury or chronicity of symptoms to support a direct link between the current condition and active duty.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the appeal to the agency of original jurisdiction for a medical opinion on the nature and etiology of any right shoulder disorder.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for right shoulder, elbow limitation, elbow flexion, and lateral epicondylitis with tendinitis. The claim for a compensable rating for allergic rhinitis was remanded.
- Granted
The Board granted an initial rating of 40 percent for the Veteran's right shoulder disability, which is the maximum schedular rating.
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