The Board has determined that the VA examination report is inadequate and represents a pre-decisional error in the duty to assist. The Veteran's right shoulder disability, including impingement syndrome, rotator cuff tendonitis, subacromial bursitis, rotator cuff tear, and degenerative arthritis, needs to be reassessed by a VA clinician.
The deciding factor: The VA examination report is unclear and does not provide sufficient rationale for the diagnoses of right shoulder strain, impingement syndrome, rotator cuff tendonitis, and subacromial bursitis as current conditions. The examiner's opinion regarding progression from previous service-connected diagnoses is insufficient to support a rating decision.
- Claimed conditions
- Impingement syndrome of the right shoulder, Rotator cuff tendonitis, Subacromial bursitis, Rotator cuff tear, Degenerative arthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 14, 2024
- Citation
- A24075005
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 399 · Granted: 41% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation A24075005.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's low back disability is currently rated at 20 percent, and the claim for a higher rating is denied. The left shoulder disability is also rated at 20 percent, but there are no incapacitating episodes to warrant a higher rating under the IVDS Formula. The TDIU claim is remanded.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for service connection for a back disability is being remanded due to duty-to-assist errors and the need for a VA examination.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for an initial disability rating in excess of 10 percent for the lumbar spine disability prior to October 11, 2022 and since December 1, 2022. The Veteran's claim is currently rated at 10 percent under Diagnostic Code 5242.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's low back disability, diagnosed as degenerative arthritis and a lumbosacral strain, is at least as likely as not related to his active service. As such, the claim for service connection is granted.
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