The Veteran's claims for effective dates prior to September 8, 2018, for the grants of service connection for neck and right shoulder disabilities are denied.,The Veteran's claims for initial ratings in excess of 10 percent for neck disability and right shoulder disability are remanded due to duty-to-assist errors.
The deciding factor: The effective dates prior to September 8, 2018, cannot be granted as the first day following separation from active duty is September 8, 2018.,There were duty-to-assist errors in the VA examinations for neck and right shoulder disabilities that need to be corrected.
- Claimed conditions
- Cervical strain (neck disability), Right shoulder impingement syndrome (right shoulder disability)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 15, 2023
- Citation
- A23032325
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 A23032325.
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 decided to remand the Veteran's claim for service connection for degenerative arthritis of spine and cervical strain due to insufficient medical opinion regarding direct, secondary, or aggravation causation.
- Denied
The Board denied initial ratings in excess of 30 percent for generalized anxiety disorder, and in excess of 20 percent for a lumbosacral strain (back disability) and cervical strain (neck disability), as well as separate ratings for left and right lower extremity radiculopathy. A rating of 30 percent was granted for the neck disability starting from May 22, 2022.
- Partly granted
The Board denied increased ratings for TMJ dysfunction with arthritis, cervical strain (neck disability), lumbar intervertebral disc syndrome with arthritis, right knee patellofemoral pain syndrome, tension headaches, and left thigh impairment. However, a 20 percent rating was granted for left lower radiculopathy involving the sciatic nerve.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for acute left ankle sprain, finding that there was no evidence of an in-service injury or a causal relationship between the current disability and any in-service event. The claims for cervical strain and left shoulder strain were remanded for further development.
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