The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for tendonitis of the left shoulder and IVDS, lumbar spine with bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy are being remanded due to inadequate examination reports. The VA examinations did not include joint testing for pain on both active and passive motion, in weight-bearing and nonweight-bearing and, if possible, with range of motion measurements of the opposite undamaged joint.
The deciding factor: The VA examinations were insufficient as they did not meet the requirements set forth by the Court's decision in Sharp v. Shulkin (2017) regarding increased evaluation claims for musculoskeletal conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- Tendonitis of the left shoulder, IVDS, lumbar spine with bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 14, 2019
- Citation
- 19137453
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 631 · Granted: 21% (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 19137453.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities have rendered him unable to secure and follow substantially gainful employment from November 14, 2011 to March 19, 2020.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for a TDIU prior to July 27, 2015 due to insufficient evidence showing that she was unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment due to her service-connected disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal for an increased evaluation for his service-connected left shoulder tendonitis is remanded due to the inadequacy of a previous VA examination and the need for another one.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities prior to July 27, 2015 did not prevent her from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation.
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