The Board remands the claims for service connection for right hip strain, shoulder strain, and wrist sprain to the AOJ for additional development.
The deciding factor: VA has a duty to assist in obtaining medical opinions that address both causation and aggravation aspects of secondary service connection claims, which were not adequately addressed in the previous opinions.
- Claimed conditions
- right hip strain, right shoulder strain, right wrist sprain
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 13, 2025
- Citation
- A25052162
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.
- Granted
The Board grants service connection for a right hip strain, resolving reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran based on evidence showing an onset during service and continuous symptoms since then.
- 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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for left and right wrist sprain due to a pre-decision duty-to-assist error, specifically the absence of a medical opinion.
- Denied
The appeal of the February 16, 2023, proposal to reduce the disability rating for right hip strain is dismissed. The Board also denied an increased disability rating for right hip strain.
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