The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to inadequate opinions regarding whether the Veteran's left shoulder and arm conditions are related to his active service or secondary to a service-connected right shoulder condition. The claims will be returned for further development.
The deciding factor: The VA examiners' opinions were found to be incomplete and inadequate, requiring additional evaluations to determine if the Veteran's conditions are directly related to his service or secondary to his service-connected right shoulder disability.
- Claimed conditions
- left shoulder impingement syndrome with rotator cuff tear, labral tear, and degenerative arthritis, left arm carpal tunnel syndrome
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 18, 2021
- Citation
- 21069466
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 21069466.
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 remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral carpal and cubital tunnel syndromes due to a duty to assist error. The Veteran is required to be provided with a VA examination in support of his claim.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a separate rating for neuromuscular spasms but dismissed appeals for service connection and increased ratings for other conditions, and remanded claims for further development.
- Dismissed
The appeal of service connection for left arm carpal tunnel syndrome was dismissed due to a procedural error in filing concurrent review options.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for an esophageal disorder, a lumbar spine disorder, left arm carpal tunnel syndrome, and right arm carpal tunnel syndrome as there was no evidence of current disabilities related to these conditions during the pendency of the claim. The claim for migraines was remanded.
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