The Board remands the claim for a right shoulder disability to obtain an addendum opinion regarding whether it is at least as likely as not aggravated by service-connected disabilities.
The deciding factor: An adequate secondary service connection opinion must address both causation and aggravation of the nonservice-connected condition, which was not addressed in the previous opinions obtained by the AOJ.
- Claimed conditions
- right shoulder strain
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 3, 2025
- Citation
- A25057607
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 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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of February 7, 2020, for the award of a 70 percent rating for unspecified depressive disorder and TDIU, but denied earlier effective dates for other conditions.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew his appeal, and there are no allegations of error for appellate consideration.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for left shoulder strain, right shoulder strain, early osteoarthritis of the left and right hips (secondary to a service-connected knee disability), and right and left ankle strains (secondary to a service-connected knee disability).
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