The Board has remanded the case for a new VA examination to address whether the Veteran's arthritis of the neck is related to service, whether it is proximately due to or the result of his service-connected bilateral shoulder disabilities, and whether it is aggravated by those disabilities. The examiner must provide opinions based on the Veteran's service treatment records showing chronic arthritis in May 1999, the May 1983 service examination, the October 1985 separation examination, and the 1993 cervical spine imaging report.
The deciding factor: The VA examiners failed to adequately address the Veteran’s lay statements regarding arthritis and joint pain within his separation examinations and the notation of chronic arthritis in 1993 and 1999. The examiner also did not provide an opinion on whether the Veteran's arthritis is aggravated by his service-connected bilateral shoulder disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- arthritis of the neck
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 15, 2020
- Citation
- 20066794
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,044 · Granted: 21% (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 20066794.
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 has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for arthritis of the neck, right knee condition (claimed as arthritis), left knee condition (claimed as arthritis), left hip condition, right hip condition, and right hand condition. The appeals are dismissed.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the appeals for service connection of various conditions as they were premature, and denied service connection for diabetes mellitus, type II and a migraine headache disability.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for bilateral flatfoot, arthritis of the neck, PTSD, radiculopathy of both upper extremities, and non-compensable ratings for umbilical hernia and right inguinal hernia.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for tinnitus and remanded the claims for an acquired psychiatric disability, a sleep disorder, type two diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, vertigo, hypertension, migraine headaches, arthritis of various joints, and kidney disease.
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