The Board has determined that the VA examinations and opinions regarding service connection for right shoulder and back conditions are inadequate. The Veteran's right shoulder and back disabilities may be related to his service-connected cervical spine disability, but further examination is needed to determine this.
The deciding factor: The January 2015 VA examination did not provide sufficient rationale or address the relationship between the Veteran’s right shoulder and back disabilities and his service-connected cervical spine disability.
- Claimed conditions
- right shoulder condition, back condition
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 12, 2019
- Citation
- 19154140
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,902 · Granted: 11% (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 19154140.
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 back condition, including degenerative disc disease and scoliosis, due to lack of current disability evidence.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal was dismissed due to their death during the pendency of the appeal.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection for sleep apnea has been dismissed due to the withdrawal of his request.,Service connection for a back condition is denied as there is no evidence that the condition began during service or is related to an in-service injury, event, or disease.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to predecisional duty-to-assist errors, including inadequate medical opinions and missed VA examinations. The Veteran's claim for service connection for a back condition is being returned to the RO for further action.
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