The Veteran seeks compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for a right shoulder disability, which he claims was caused by VA treatment and medication side effects. The Board finds the current opinions insufficient to determine whether the additional disability was reasonably foreseeable and remands for further clarification.
The deciding factor: The Board is unable to render a medical opinion as it would be in violation of Colvin v. Derwinski, due to inconsistent findings in the VA examination and remaining evidence.
- Claimed conditions
- Right shoulder injury, Right rotator cuff tear
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 20, 2019
- Citation
- 19195626
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 19195626.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and an initial rating in excess of 20 percent for the right shoulder injury, while remanding claims for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, chronic bronchitis with COPD, and GERD.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for PTSD and right hand scar, but denied service connection for other claimed conditions including diabetes type II, erectile dysfunction, headaches, heart disease, obstructive sleep apnea, left shoulder injury, left hand injury, lower back injury, right shoulder injury, upper back injury, and a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss disability.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the claims for service connection for various conditions as they were duplicative of other appeals.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a right rotator cuff tear, finding that there is no evidence to support a link between his current condition and military service or any service-connected disability.
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