The Board has remanded the cases for further development and consideration due to inadequate medical opinions regarding the Veteran's left elbow, back, and shoulder disabilities. The issues of higher ratings for these conditions are being returned to the RO.
The deciding factor: The VA examiners failed to provide adequate assessments of the Veteran’s flare-ups or additional functional loss with repeated use over time, which is required by the Court's holding in Sharp v. Shulkin (2017).
- Claimed conditions
- Left Elbow Disability, Degenerative Joint Disease of the Thoracolumbar Spine (Back Disability), Degenerative Joint Disease of the Left Shoulder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 3, 2020
- Citation
- 20051397
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 20051397.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the Veteran's claims for service connection of a left knee disability, back disability, and left elbow disability must be remanded due to inadequate VA examinations. The Veteran provided lay reports of symptoms but the VA examiners did not consider these reports in their conclusions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal for a disability rating of 70 percent for PTSD is granted. The case is remanded due to the need for further examination and opinion regarding his left elbow disability.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) due to service-connected disabilities is denied because the evidence does not show he is unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD has been denied due to the absence of a diagnosed condition.,Service connection is being remanded for bilateral foot, lumbar spine, knee, ankle, and elbow disabilities.
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