Shoulder decisions — 2006

The Board has determined that the veteran's current right shoulder disabilities are not related to an injury in service and have denied his claim for service connection.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development, including a VA examination to determine if his current bilateral shoulder disability, including arthritis, is related to or aggravated by his service-connected wrist disability. The TDIU claim will be deferred pending the adjudication of the service connection claim.

The Board has granted service connection for the veteran's left shoulder, left scapula and lumbar, dorsal and cervical spines as manifestations of her already service-connected fibromyalgia and myofascial pain syndrome. The right shoulder condition is denied, and no other skeletal condition is found to be service connected.

Throughout the rating period on appeal, the veteran's left shoulder disability was manifested by complaints of pain during range of motion with partial dislocation recurrent once a month. The evidence showed abduction to 110 degrees from the side.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for COPD, osteoarthritis of both hands, shoulders, hips and legs due to lack of a current disability. The claim for service connection for osteoarthritis of the lower back is remanded as there was no SOC issued.

The Board has denied the veteran's claim for an increased disability evaluation for his service-connected status post left shoulder surgery with limitation of external motion (minor), currently rated at 20 percent.

The RO denied the appellant's claim for VA benefits on the basis of permanent incapacity for self-support prior to his 18th birthday, finding that new and material evidence had not been received.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD and a left shoulder condition as there is no medical evidence of current disability or in-service stressor.

The Board found that there is no evidence of current disability associated with the claimed conditions and denied the veteran's claim for compensation under 38 U.S.C.A. ¶ 1151.

The Board denied the veteran's claims of service connection for right shoulder disorder, prostatitis and benign prostatic hypertrophy, urethritis, left knee disorder, and left hip disorder. The Board found that these conditions were not incurred or aggravated by military service.

The Board found that the veteran's pre-existing left shoulder condition (recurrent dislocations) existed prior to service and was not aggravated by service. As a result, the claim for service connection was denied.

The Board has determined that the veteran's service connection claims for left shoulder injury and residuals of a sprained right ankle are denied as there is no evidence of chronic disability related to these inservice injuries.

The Board found that the veteran did not have current residuals of his service-connected right ankle injury, a current right elbow disorder, arthritis of the left hip, or a right shoulder disability. The claim for increased rating prior to November 2004 was also denied.

The Board has denied service connection for pruritis of the palm of the right hand and a bilateral knee disability. Service connection was not established as there is no evidence of such conditions during active duty or within one year after discharge.

The veteran's service-connected PTSD and asthmatic bronchitis contributed to his death from congestive heart failure (CHF). The Board finds that the medical evidence supports this conclusion, thus granting the claim for service connection for cause of death.

Additional evidence has been received since the last Supplemental Statement of Case, and this appeal is being remanded for further review by the RO.

The Board has determined that the veteran's current left elbow epicondylitis, right shoulder impingement, right wrist degenerative joint disease, and left wrist strain are related to injuries sustained during active duty for training. As such, these conditions have been granted service connection.

The Board has determined that there is no competent evidence of current right shoulder, left shoulder, low back, right ankle, or left ankle disorders. Therefore, the veteran does not meet the criteria for service connection for any of these conditions.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for a left shoulder disability and upheld the reduction of his compensation benefits due to incarceration.

The Board has determined that there is no current evidence of a right hand, right shoulder, or left elbow disability and thus service connection for these conditions cannot be established.