The Veteran's claim for an increased evaluation for myofascial pain of the right trapezius muscle is remanded due to outstanding medical records and a missed VA examination.
The deciding factor: The Veteran failed to attend a scheduled VA examination, which was related to his service-connected disability. The Board finds good cause for missing the appointment and orders another attempt at obtaining relevant medical records and scheduling a new examination.
- Claimed conditions
- myofascial pain of the right trapezius muscle
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 13, 2019
- Citation
- 19185525
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,036 · Granted: 27% (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 19185525.
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 service-connected lumbar spine degenerative disc disease is granted a 40% rating, effective from the date of claim. The other issues remain unchanged.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's myofascial pain of the right trapezius muscle is related to his period of service, and thus grants service connection for this condition. The reduction in ratings for hemorrhoids, left hip/groin strain, and left knee chondromalacia and osteoarthritis are also granted.
- 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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