The Board has decided that the Veteran's DJD of the right shoulder and acquired psychiatric disorder, to include depression, are not service-connected. The case is being sent back for further examination and analysis.
The deciding factor: The VA examiners did not adequately address the Veteran’s job duties on active duty and his use of ibuprofen in their opinions regarding the etiology of his DJD and mental health conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative Joint Disease (DJD) of the right shoulder, Acquired psychiatric disorder to include depression
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 23, 2019
- Citation
- 19140044
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,435 · Granted: 22% (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 19140044.
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 TDIU prior to October 10, 2018, finding that his service-connected disabilities did not prevent him from securing or following substantially gainful employment.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for additional VA medical opinions to determine if the Veteran's current disabilities of the hips, shoulders, knees, and cervical spine are related to his active service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that more development is needed to determine the nature and etiology of the Veteran's right shoulder disability, including whether it was incurred in service or aggravated by a pre-existing condition.
- Denied
The Veteran's right shoulder disability was rated at 20 percent prior to April 20, 2022 and denied a higher rating. From April 20, 2022, the Veteran's right shoulder disability was rated at 30 percent and also denied a higher rating.
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