The Board remands the claim for a retrospective medical opinion to address the Veteran's right shoulder disability without the ameliorative effects of his use of pain medication.
The deciding factor: A pre-decisional duty to assist error requires obtaining a retrospective medical opinion to accurately assess the severity of the Veteran's service-connected right shoulder disability.
- Claimed conditions
- right shoulder strain with degenerative arthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 2, 2025
- Citation
- A25040576
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 an initial disability rating in excess of 20 percent for left and right shoulder strain with degenerative arthritis.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for multiple conditions, including right and left shoulder strains with degenerative arthritis, right and left hip degenerative arthritis, left ankle degenerative arthritis with chronic instability and anterior talofibular ligament strain, cervical spine degenerative disc disease with degenerative arthritis, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and obstructive sleep apnea, all of which are secondary to service-connected disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied earlier effective dates for the grants of service connection and increased ratings, granted readjudication on new evidence, and remanded several claims.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for erectile dysfunction and special monthly compensation based on the loss of use of a creative organ, as these conditions are related to the Veteran's service-connected PTSD.
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