The Board has determined that a new VA examination is needed to address the Veteran's right and left shoulder disorders due to an inadequate July 2016 examination, which did not account for functional loss during flare-ups. The claims are being remanded.
The deciding factor: The July 2016 VA examination was insufficient as it did not provide a rationale for its inability to speculate about additional functional loss during flare-ups and the examiner's findings regarding flare-ups were contradictory.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative Joint Disease (DJD), right shoulder, Rotator cuff tendonitis, right shoulder, Impingement of the right shoulder, Degenerative Joint Disease (DJD), left shoulder, Rotator cuff tendonitis, left shoulder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 16, 2019
- Citation
- 19171836
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 19171836.
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 has decided to remand several issues related to service connection for various conditions, including DJD, back disorder, diabetes mellitus DM, right eye disorder, GI disorder (gastritis), and skin disorder (rash on groin). The AOJ is instructed to complete the additional development directed in previous remands.
- Denied
The VA has determined that the veteran's right shoulder disability, characterized by impingement and degenerative joint disease, warrants a 10 percent rating.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
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