The Board has remanded the claims for service connection of bilateral shoulder conditions, including torn bicep of the right arm, as secondary to service-connected disabilities. The Veteran's claim will be further evaluated with a VA examination.
The deciding factor: The April 2019 VA opinion was incomplete and did not address whether the Veteran’s service-connected cervical spine, thoracolumbar spine, or bilateral upper radiculopathy disabilities aggravated his shoulder conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative joint disease of the right shoulder, Degenerative joint disease of the left shoulder, Torn bicep of the right arm
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 13, 2019
- Citation
- 19162470
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 19162470.
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 remands the claim for a rating in excess of 20 percent for degenerative joint disease of the left shoulder to obtain an addendum opinion that considers the ameliorative effects of medication.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for degenerative joint disease of the right hip, left hip, and left shoulder, as well as PTSD. The claim for a higher rating for the right knee scar was denied.
- Granted
The Veteran was granted a TDIU for the period from July 1, 2016, to June 25, 2017, and beginning June 26, 2017, due to his service-connected coronary artery disease (CAD) status post coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the Veteran's claims for a rating in excess of 20 percent for degenerative joint disease of the left shoulder and a rating in excess of 10 percent for a status post left ankle fracture to obtain additional medical opinions.
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