The Board has ordered a remand due to the need for additional development, including obtaining an addendum opinion from a qualified clinician regarding the Veteran's joint and/or muscle pain, to include arthritis. The examiner must consider the Veteran's complaints of arm and shoulder muscle pain at the September 1983 separation examination and pulled muscle(s) in the August 1986 Reserve Component treatment record.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the previous VA examination did not substantially comply with the remand directives, hence another examination is necessary to address the Veteran's complaints of arm and shoulder muscle pain at the September 1983 separation examination and pulled muscle(s) in the August 1986 Reserve Component treatment record.
- Claimed conditions
- Joint pain, Muscle pain, Arthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- November 5, 2020
- Citation
- 20071761
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,050 · Granted: 23% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 20071761.
What this means for you
A remand sends an issue back for more development, often a new examination or missing records. It does not award the benefit or decide the final outcome. The original decision explains the additional work ordered.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for service connection for allergic rhinitis, muscle pain, joint pain, sleep disturbances, chronic fatigue, migraine headaches, and sleep apnea is being remanded due to the need for additional medical opinions and examinations.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a duty-to-assist error in previous examinations, requiring additional information on right shoulder ROM measurements without medication effects.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's disability ratings for low back disability and right lower extremity radiculopathy have been reduced from 40% and 10%, respectively, to 20% and 0%. The reduction was based on improvements shown in recent VA examinations.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's right knee strain with arthritis is currently rated at 10 percent, the maximum allowable rating under Diagnostic Code 5010 prior to February 7, 2021. The Veteran's GERD with hiatal hernia and irritable bowel syndrome is not rated higher than 30 percent.
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