The Board has determined that additional medical opinions are needed to address the Veteran's claims for right shoulder and lumbar spine disabilities, as the previous examinations did not fully consider his statements regarding in-service injuries and ongoing pain.
The deciding factor: The prior VA examiners failed to adequately consider the Veteran's statements about in-service incidents and ongoing pain post-service, which are considered competent evidence of current disability.
- Claimed conditions
- Right Shoulder Impingement Syndrome, Disc Degeneration of the Lumbar Spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 27, 2021
- Citation
- 21076732
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 21076732.
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 a right shoulder disability, finding that the Veteran's current symptoms are related to his in-service injury.
- Granted
The Veteran's right shoulder disorder was denied service connection initially, but new evidence received after the March 2008 rating decision is relevant to this issue. The Board finds that a current diagnosis for right shoulder impingement syndrome exists and that it did not have its onset during service or otherwise be related to service.
- Denied
The Veteran was granted service connection for various conditions, but the appeal regarding an earlier effective date for benefits under the VA PCAFC related to a June 2023 application is denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the VA examinations and opinions provided do not comply with the remand directives. Therefore, another remand is necessary to obtain the requested retrospective estimates for the Veteran's right shoulder and lumbar spine disabilities.
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