The Board has found that the VA examinations conducted following the remand were inadequate and requires further examination to determine if the Veteran's hernia, arthritis of both shoulders, low back disorder, and neck disorder are related to her military service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner failed to adequately consider the Veteran’s lay statements regarding the onset and continuity of her symptoms, specifically her reported experience of engaging in repetitive heavy lifting while on active duty.
- Claimed conditions
- hernia, arthritis of both shoulders, low back disorder, neck disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 5, 2019
- Citation
- 19183084
Veterans Law Judge
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 19183084.
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.
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