The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for right shoulder degenerative joint disease and bilateral pes planus with plantar fibroma, both of which are to be evaluated based on their direct relationship to service without any presumption or secondary connection. The VA will conduct additional examinations and obtain private treatment records as requested in prior remands.
The deciding factor: The Board found the previous opinions insufficient due to lack of consideration of all evidence and the totality of the Veteran's history, including his lay statements and testimony regarding continuity of symptoms since service.
- Claimed conditions
- right shoulder degenerative joint disease, bilateral pes planus with plantar fibroma
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 7, 2020
- Citation
- 20000980
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 granted revision of the April 2007 rating decision on the basis of clear and unmistakable error (CUE) for right shoulder degenerative joint disease, assigning a 10 percent rating effective January 1, 2007. Other claims were denied.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for the veteran's right shoulder, left shoulder, thoracolumbar spondylosis, cervical spondylosis, and both lower extremity radiculopathies as they were not incurred in or caused by his active service.
- Denied
The Board denied a rating in excess of 30 percent for right shoulder degenerative joint disease and a TDIU prior to February 29, 2020.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for other specified depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder, and increased the ratings for thoracic spine degenerative changes, right knee degenerative disease, left knee degenerative disease, and right shoulder degenerative joint disease.
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This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.