The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient medical opinions regarding whether the Veteran's right shoulder condition is related to his military service and/or secondary to his service-connected disabilities, particularly his cervical spine disability.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner’s opinions were found to be inadequate in explaining the relationship between the Veteran's current right shoulder condition and his service-connected disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- Right shoulder degenerative arthritis
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 28, 2020
- Citation
- 20081166
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,088 · Granted: 33% (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 20081166.
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.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for right shoulder degenerative arthritis and a functionally impairing left shoulder disability, finding that the current disabilities are related to in-service injuries sustained during combat service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for increased initial evaluations of degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine, left shoulder strain with degenerative arthritis, and right shoulder degenerative arthritis due to inadequate VA examinations.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection are being remanded due to the need for further development of the evidence.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided that the Veteran's right shoulder disability and muscle spasms are not service-connected. The case is being remanded for further examination.
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