The Board has granted service connection for a lumbar spine disability but has remanded the left shoulder disability claim due to inadequate medical opinion.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner's opinion was insufficient as it did not provide sound reasoning and relied on the absence of evidence in the record, which is not substantive negative evidence.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine, Left shoulder rotator cuff and labral tear (including superior labral anterior-posterior lesion)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 18, 2022
- Citation
- 22069812
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 22069812.
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
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for increased ratings for degenerative arthritis of the cervical spine and lumbar spine was granted with effective dates of May 13, 2019.
- Granted
The Veteran's degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine was diagnosed during service and has continued since then. The Board granted service connection for this condition based on continuity of symptomatology.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to inadequate examinations and the need for a retrospective opinion regarding the severity of his service-connected lumbar spine disability.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's low back disability, diagnosed as degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine, is related to service and granted service connection for this condition.
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