The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for increased ratings and TDIU due to incomplete VA examinations in previous years, requiring additional development including obtaining a retrospective opinion regarding the severity of his disabilities during the period on appeal.
The deciding factor: Incomplete information from prior VA examinations necessitates further investigation into the current severity of the Veteran’s disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- left shoulder tendonitis, intervertebral disc syndrome (IVDS) of the lumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 6, 2019
- Citation
- 19191822
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 115 · 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 19191822.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for his service-connected left shoulder tendonitis, right shoulder tendonitis, left knee tendonitis, and right elbow tendinitis (impairment of supination and pronation) have been denied.,The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for his service-connected right elbow tendinitis (limitation of flexion) has also been denied.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's left shoulder disability, including rotator cuff tear with degenerative arthritis and tendonitis, finding that it is related to his military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims of entitlement to service connection for lumbosacral strain, left shoulder tendonitis, and left foot arthritis due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's initial claim for an increased rating for his service-connected low back disability (previously rated as degenerative disc disease) was remanded due to a duty-to-assist error in the November 2024 Back Conditions Disability Benefits Questionnaire. The case is now being remanded to obtain retrospective findings from an appropriate clinician to determine the severity of the Veteran's service-connected back disability.
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