The Board remands the claims for service connection for right and left shoulder conditions to obtain an addendum opinion addressing their etiology in relation to the Veteran's active military service.
The deciding factor: The July 2024 medical opinion was found inadequate due to its reliance on a significant gap between initial complaints of shoulder pain and discharge from service, which did not consider relevant evidence such as a 2008 MRI showing an infraspinatus tear of the left shoulder and 2010 records reporting arthritis and joint pain in both shoulders.
- Claimed conditions
- right shoulder strain with glenohumeral joint arthritis, left shoulder strain with glenohumeral joint arthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 30, 2025
- Citation
- A25056150
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.
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- Granted
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