The Board has remanded the issue of a rating in excess of 30 percent for residuals, right shoulder, AC joint separation due to lack of compliance with VA examination requirements. The Veteran's current disability picture does not meet or approximate criteria for a higher rating.
The deciding factor: The April 2019 VA examination did not comply with the Board’s remand instructions and thus the claim is remanded for further development.
- Claimed conditions
- Right Shoulder AC Joint Separation, Osteoarthritis of Right Shoulder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 1, 2019
- Citation
- 19182776
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,240 · Granted: 28% (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 19182776.
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 Veteran's right shoulder disability, including AC joint separation and impingement syndrome with DJD, is rated at 40 percent. A separate rating of 30 percent for the service-connected nerve impairment is also granted.
- Denied
The Veteran's appeal for an initial rating in excess of 50 percent for major depressive disorder and SMC based on the need for aid and attendance or housebound status was denied. The Board found that his depression did not meet the criteria for a higher rating, as it did not cause deficiencies in most areas such as work, school, family relations, judgment, thinking, or mood.
- Granted
The Veteran's right shoulder disability is rated at 30 percent, effective April 24, 2016. The rating reflects the Veteran's symptoms of decreased ranges of motion and pain, which have not more nearly approximated a higher rating.
- Denied
The Board found that the Veteran's service-connected right shoulder disability, manifested by pain and occasional looseness but with normal range of motion above shoulder level, does not warrant a rating higher than 10 percent.
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