The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate VA examination and need for additional evaluations of the Veteran's right shoulder, lumbar spine, and cervical spine disabilities.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner did not adequately address the Veteran’s flare-ups and functional loss during those periods in his previous examinations.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative changes in the right shoulder, Osteoarthritis of the lumbar spine, Osteoarthritis of the cervical spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 4, 2019
- Citation
- 19176944
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,249 · Granted: 37% (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 19176944.
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.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for osteoarthritis of the lumbar spine, but denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and right ankle disorder.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for a right ankle condition was dismissed as the Veteran withdrew his appeal during his Board Hearing. The Board granted service connection for degenerative disc disease, osteoarthritis of the lumbar spine, spinal stenosis, and lumbar-sacral spondylosis.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the cases for further examinations and consideration of service connection claims due to lack of recent evaluations.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for her lumbar spine disability was denied. The Board found that the evidence did not warrant a higher rating under any applicable diagnostic codes.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.