Shoulder decisions — 2007

The Board has determined that the veteran's degenerative joint disease of the left shoulder was not incurred or aggravated by active service and is not proximately due to, the result of, or aggravated by service-connected disability.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for arthritis of his right shoulder and a right thumb disorder, finding no evidence of in-service injury or disease. The veteran's current joint pain is not related to his inservice injuries.,For his service-connected laceration, right shoulder, the Board found that the disability results in only barely discernable scars with no functional limitation.

The veteran's claims for service connection for right shoulder tendonitis and a bilateral arm disability, both claimed as secondary to his service-connected bilateral knee disabilities, are being remanded for further development.

The Board found no evidence of a chronic neck or right shoulder condition in service, and there is insufficient continuity of symptomatology to establish service connection. The veteran's lay statements regarding the onset of his conditions were not credible given the lack of contemporaneous medical records.

The Board has granted service connection for a left shoulder condition, but the veteran's claim was denied due to lack of current disability evidence. The case is being remanded for further development and consideration.

The Board has determined that the veteran's degenerative joint disease of the left shoulder warrants a disability rating of 40 percent, which is more than the current 20 percent rating.

The Board has determined that the veteran's bursitis of the right shoulder and fibrocystic breast disease are both service-connected.

The Board has granted an increased rating of 20 percent for the service-connected thoracic spine disorder, effective from the date of the initial claim. Service connection was also established for arthritis of the spine as secondary to a service-connected disorder.

The veteran's service connection claim for bilateral testicular atrophy is granted. The RO denied the claims for left shoulder, left arm, cervical spine, and lumbar spine disabilities on the basis that there was no explanation of their origin during service.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining medical records and scheduling a VA examination to determine if the veteran's current shoulder and back disabilities are related to his service.

The Board has determined that service connection for the claimed right shoulder and left wrist disabilities is not warranted based on the lack of medical evidence linking these conditions to service.

The Board has granted service connection for a right shoulder disability and found that the veteran's psychiatric disability is not related to service. The issue of entitlement to an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for a low back disability was withdrawn by the appellant.

The veteran's claims for service connection regarding a psychiatric disorder, cervical spine disorder, and left shoulder disorder are being remanded due to the need to verify the location of a claimed jeep accident during service.

The January 1980 rating decision denying service connection for right shoulder injury remains final. The additional evidence received since that decision does not meet the criteria to reopen the claim.

The Board has remanded the case for further development and consideration, including obtaining medical records from Dr. Cohen and VA Medical Center in Oklahoma City.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for an increased disability rating for his right shoulder separation with degenerative arthritic changes, currently rated at 30 percent.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining VA treatment records and scheduling a new VA examination to evaluate the current severity of the right shoulder disability.

The veteran's claim for a disability rating in excess of 20 percent for residuals of a right shoulder injury was denied.,Service connection for diabetes mellitus was also denied.

The Board found that the veteran's right shoulder and wrist injuries are not proximately due to or aggravated by his service-connected knee disabilities, thus denying the claim for secondary service connection.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for an initial disability rating in excess of 20 percent for his left shoulder dislocation with degenerative changes, postoperative, as there was no evidence showing that his condition warranted a higher rating prior to August 11, 2003.