The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to inadequate VA examinations and the need for additional development regarding his service connection claim for a left arm disability and his initial rating claim for a left shoulder disability.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the previous VA examinations were inadequate and required new opinions on the issues of service connection and initial rating for the Veteran's disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- left shoulder impingement syndrome, bicipital tendonitis, rotator cuff tear, labral tear
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 16, 2024
- Citation
- 24002172
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 998 · Granted: 40% (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 24002172.
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 Veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded due to a duty to assist error. The VA will obtain new opinions from different VA examiners to address whether the Veteran's conditions were incurred or aggravated by his military service, including exposure during combat.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has found that the current medical opinion is inadequate and the record is incomplete without other opinions. The Veteran's left shoulder disorder may be related to service, but a VA examination is needed to determine if it was caused by or aggravated by his service-connected right shoulder disorder.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for SMC based on loss of use of the left upper extremity is remanded due to inadequate examination and opinion regarding her service-connected disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for left shoulder impingement syndrome as there was no evidence of an in-service injury or event that could be linked to his current condition.
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