The Board remands the claim for service connection for right shoulder degenerative arthritis to obtain an addendum opinion addressing whether the Veteran's condition is related to his active service.
The deciding factor: The February 2022 VA medical opinion was inadequate as it did not address the Veteran's reported injury during sports and continued issues since service, leading to a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
- Claimed conditions
- right shoulder degenerative arthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 6, 2025
- Citation
- A25041031
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 Board dismissed the appeals for earlier effective dates related to various left and right hip, knee, shoulder, and other conditions as they were freestanding claims not continuously pursued from the initial rating decisions.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities are of such nature and severity as to preclude his participation in any regular substantially gainful employment consistent with his education and occupational experience, warranting a total disability rating based on individual unemployability.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for left shoulder degenerative arthritis, right shoulder degenerative arthritis, and degenerative arthritis of the lumbosacral spine. The rating for the Veteran's service-connected traumatic arthritis of the right wrist/arm was restored to 20 percent effective June 1, 2024.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for right shoulder degenerative arthritis as there is no evidence of in-service incurrence or aggravation, and the condition did not manifest within one year of discharge.
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