The Veteran's claims for service connection have been granted, but further examination and opinion are needed to address the etiology of his left shoulder disability.,Sleep apnea is a new issue that needs to be addressed as it may or may not be related to the Veteran's military service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner will need to determine if the Veteran’s current left shoulder disabilities are at least as likely as not related to his in-service injuries, including an injury when lifting weights and a bone scan showing increased activity in the acromioclavicular joint.,A sleep apnea examination is needed to assess whether the Veteran's condition had onset during or is otherwise related to his military service.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative Joint Disease of the Left Knee (status post meniscectomy), Instability of the Left Knee, Instability of the Right Knee, Left Ankle Disability, Left Shoulder Disability, Right Ankle Disability, Sleep Apnea
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 18, 2019
- Citation
- 19195090
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 880 · Granted: 26% (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 19195090.
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 Board denied service connection for sleep apnea, finding that the evidence did not support a link between the condition and service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The claims for service connection for right and left shoulder disabilities are remanded. The claim for sleep disorder (claimed as sleep apnea) remains denied.
- Denied
The claims for PTSD, an acquired psychiatric disorder, memory loss/memory problems, chronic fatigue, sleep difficulties/sleep disturbances, and sleep apnea have been denied. The claim for service connection for residuals of testicular denervation and varicosectomy has been granted.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for an effective date before April 1, 2018 for a 20% rating for left shoulder disability was denied. The appeal also resulted in the assignment of a 20% rating from April 1, 2018 to March 31, 2018, and a TDIU granted from April 1, 2018 to September 3, 2025.
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