The Veteran's claim for an increased rating in excess of 30 percent for his service-connected right shoulder disability is being remanded due to the inadequacy of a previous VA examination. The new examination must consider flare-ups and provide estimates of additional loss of range of motion during such periods.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner failed to adequately address the impact of flare-ups on the Veteran's right shoulder disability, as required by case law and guidelines.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative Joint Disease (DJD) of the Right Shoulder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 9, 2019
- Citation
- 19153128
Veterans Law Judge
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 19153128.
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, prior to January 6, 2017 and as of May 1, 2017, did not meet the criteria for a higher rating than 20 percent.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's right upper extremity radiculopathy was rated at 40 percent disabling from October 10, 2018. The combined rating of his service-connected disabilities is currently 90 percent since September 11, 2019, which meets the criteria for TDIU. However, the Board has remanded the issue due to inadequate discussion in the previous decision.
- Denied
The Veteran's right shoulder disability, diagnosed as DJD, was found to not meet the criteria for a higher rating prior to December 20, 2010. From December 20, 2010 to May 18, 2011, his disability was rated at 30 percent and from July 1, 2012 onwards, it remained at the same level of 30 percent.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board found the Veteran's anxiety disorder does not warrant a rating higher than 30 percent, and his scars do not meet criteria for a compensable rating. The DJD of the right shoulder requires further examination to determine its severity.
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