Secondary Shoulder Pain

[Black Reign]

I'm receiving 20% for neck.  In the process of trying to get shoulder pain secondary to neck pain.  Just wondering how likely it is to get approval as far as secondary disability.

[GBArmy]

Simple answer is we don't know. Secondaries HAVE to have a very good IMO in every case. Anatomy wise, they certainly are physically connected. Your doc has to say that he/she believes in their expert opinion that the neck problem has resulted in the shoulder problem because of X, and this is backed-up by Y reasoning. They have to use specific language that the shoulder pain is  "at least as likely as not", or "more likely than not: or "is the cause of." It also has to have the doc's personal career data that specifically show his academic and professional accomplishments, education, published books and articles, etc. The point is he/she is indicating that their expertise is backed up. Gotta have this and most often, veterans go to experts who have knowledge of the VA criteria, have the petigree for their expert opinion, and most important,  a good analysis. Most docs we have don't know how to write the kind of documentation the VA wants, or care to put in the work to do it.