The Board remands the claims for service connection for neck, left shoulder, and right shoulder conditions to correct pre-decisional duty-to-assist errors.
The deciding factor: Remand is necessary due to unaddressed private treatment records and inadequate medical opinions regarding etiology of claimed conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- neck condition, left shoulder condition, variously characterized as left rotator cuff tendonitis and left shoulder strain, right shoulder condition, variously characterized as right rotator cuff tendonitis and right shoulder strain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Gulf War
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 13, 2025
- Citation
- A25023383
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.
- Dismissed
The veteran's appeal requests for service connection and increased ratings were denied due to untimeliness, as the appeals were not filed within one year of the respective rating decisions.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection, higher ratings, and earlier effective dates, as well as dismissed his claim for a TDIU.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for a left shoulder condition, finding that the Veteran's current disability is related to his military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for various conditions, including a back condition, right and left lower extremity sciatic nerve radiculopathy, neck condition, upper extremity radiculopathy, bilateral flatfoot, right foot plantar fasciitis, and right ankle pain, as the current evidence is inadequate to make a decision.
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