The Board has remanded the claims for increased ratings for right shoulder impingement, chronic low back strain with myofascial pain, and cervical spine degenerative arthritis due to inadequate examinations that did not consider flare-ups.
The deciding factor: The VA examinations failed to properly assess the impact of flare-ups on the Veteran's functional ability.
- Claimed conditions
- Right Shoulder Impingement, Chronic Low Back Strain with Myofascial Pain, Cervical Spine Degenerative Arthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 26, 2019
- Citation
- 19122536
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,515 · Granted: 20% (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 19122536.
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 decided to remand the Veteran's claims for service connection for right and left shoulder disorders due to in-service participation on a boxing team. The VA will need to obtain additional medical records, including private physical therapy records, and schedule an examination to determine if these conditions are related to service.
- Granted
The Board has granted an effective date of November 17, 2006 for the grant of service connection for PTSD, with generalized anxiety disorder and traumatic brain injury, as well as cervical spine degenerative arthritis. This decision is based on the addition of service treatment records that were not available at the time of the initial claim.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for a total disability rating based upon individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for cause of death due to a need for additional evidence and an adequate medical examination.
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