The Board has remanded the claims for bilateral shoulder disorders, bilateral knee arthritis, and diabetes mellitus type II due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology. The Veteran served as a firefighter for over 20 years.
The deciding factor: The VA examiners provided negative nexus opinions without adequately addressing the Veteran's in-service complaints and post-service treatment history.
- Claimed conditions
- {"condition_name":"Right Shoulder Disorder"}, {"condition_name":"Left Shoulder Disorder"}, {"condition_name":"Right Knee Arthritis"}, {"condition_name":"Left Knee Arthritis"}, {"condition_name":"Diabetes Mellitus, Type II"}
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 18, 2020
- Citation
- 20074174
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.
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- Granted
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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.