Shoulder decisions — 2013

The Board found that the Veteran's right knee disability is not related to his service or a service-connected condition, and denied both his claim for service connection and his request for an increased rating for his left shoulder disability. The evidence did not support granting either benefit.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's pre-existing bilateral knee disorder, specifically patellar chondromalacia, did not worsen during service. There is no evidence of a current right hip or right shoulder disorder to support service connection.

The Veteran withdrew his appeals in a June 2013 statement, thus the appeals are dismissed.

The Board finds that the Veteran's current bilateral shoulder arthritis is service-connected as it can be reasonably disassociated from his active military service.

The Veteran's left shoulder radiculopathy is associated with his service-connected cervical strain, and he is granted service connection for this condition.

The Board has granted service connection for IBS and assigned a 10 percent disability rating, effective from August 14, 2001.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's psychiatric disorder was aggravated by his active military service, and thus grants service connection for this condition.

The Board found no evidence to support the Veteran's claims of service connection for back, neck, left shoulder, and right shoulder disabilities as secondary to his service-connected left knee disability. The diagnoses were not related to the service-connected condition.

The Board finds that the Veteran's arthritis of the left shoulder, left knee, and bilateral ankles are not due to any incident of his active duty service.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his bilateral knee disabilities were denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support a higher rating for either knee.

The Veteran's claims for service connection and increased rating for his left shoulder disorder and low back disability were denied. The Board found no evidence of a nexus between the current disabilities and active duty, except for minimal degenerative joint disease in the left shoulder diagnosed in January 2008. The Veteran was not granted service connection or an increased rating.

The Board has remanded the claims for further development, including obtaining medical opinions regarding whether the Veteran's service-connected lumbar spine disability caused or aggravated his claimed spinal and elbow disabilities. The case is to be returned to the Board for further appellate review.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's service-connected right shoulder tendonitis warrants a 30 percent rating, effective from September 1992.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining records from SSA and scheduling VA examinations to address the Veteran's claims.

The Board has remanded the case for further development and readjudication due to issues related to whether a timely substantive appeal was received, as well as claims of new and material evidence.

The Veteran's dysfunctional uterine bleeding, menorrhagia, and dysmenorrhea were related to her active service.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's upper back spasms are part and parcel of his service-connected cervical spine strain, and thus does not warrant separate service connection. The bilateral shoulder strain was incurred during active duty service.

The Board has remanded the case for further development of evidence, including determining precise dates of active duty training and inactive duty training. The appellant's claims for service connection remain pending.

The Board has granted service connection for degenerative joint disease (DJD) of the right shoulder and assigned an initial 10 percent rating, effective from March 10, 2007. The Veteran's appeal regarding a higher initial rating for his right shoulder disability is pending.

The Veteran's appeal for a higher rating of his right shoulder fracture residuals was denied by the Board, as he already had the maximum available rating under the applicable diagnostic codes.