The Board of Veterans' Appeals remands the claims for service connection for right shoulder strain and cervical spine strain due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
The deciding factor: The July 2022 VA medical opinions did not provide sufficient rationale for cited risk factors specific to the Veteran, necessitating additional medical opinions.
- Claimed conditions
- right shoulder strain, cervical spine strain
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 15, 2024
- Citation
- A24065979
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including bilateral plantar fasciitis, chronic pain syndrome, sciatic radicular pain of both legs, traumatic brain injury (TBI), shin splints of both legs, thoracic spondylosis, right shoulder strain, right wrist strain, acne, and allergic rhinitis.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of February 7, 2020, for the award of a 70 percent rating for unspecified depressive disorder and TDIU, but denied earlier effective dates for other conditions.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew his appeal, and there are no allegations of error for appellate consideration.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for left shoulder strain, right shoulder strain, early osteoarthritis of the left and right hips (secondary to a service-connected knee disability), and right and left ankle strains (secondary to a service-connected knee disability).
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This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.