Shoulder decisions — 2014

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining VA and private treatment records, scheduling a VA examination of the left shoulder, and determining whether his current left shoulder condition is related to service.

The Veteran's service connection claims for left shoulder arthritis, cervical spine disability, and right shoulder arthritis are granted as they are found to be directly related to his military service.

The Board found no evidence of a left shoulder disorder, bilateral knee or hip disorders, head injury, or scar on head incurred during service.,Service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder was also denied as the Veteran's claimed conditions are not related to his military service.

The Board has determined that there is no evidence of a current right shoulder or left knee disability and finds the Veteran's claims for service connection to be denied.

The Veteran's appeal involves multiple secondary service connection claims for various disabilities, including Hodgkin's lymphoma and its complications. The Board has determined that further development is needed to address the exposure basis of these claims.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's right shoulder disability is related to his active service, granting service connection for a right shoulder disability.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for residuals of bilateral shoulder injuries is being remanded due to the need for additional medical examination and opinion.

The Veteran's appeal of the denial of service connection for bilateral shoulder pain, back pain, obstructive sleep apnea, and hypertension was held to be timely filed. The Board found that the Veteran had reasonable excuses for filing his appeal after the 60-day deadline.

The Board has remanded the case to the AOJ for further development, including scheduling an examination and considering whether the Veteran's service-connected disabilities render him unemployable.

The Board found that the Veteran's GERD was not caused or aggravated by his service-connected PTSD.,Evidence submitted since the April 2009 rating decision did not raise a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claims for ulcerative colitis/Barrett's esophagus and left shoulder disability.

The Board has granted service connection for residuals of a neck injury and residuals of a left shoulder injury, finding that the Veteran's current conditions are at least in relative equipoise with her in-service injuries. The psychiatric disorder claim is remanded as it requires further examination.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining medical records and scheduling a VA examination. The issues are related to increased ratings for his service-connected disabilities.

The Veteran's claim for a higher initial rating for service-connected left forearm scars has been granted, with the effective date set at May 12, 2009. The earlier effective date claim for the 40 percent disability rating for the service-connected back disability was not met.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for various conditions, including leukemic mononucleosis, lymphoma, deep white matter deviation to include memory loss, headaches other than sinusitis with headaches, bilateral hearing loss disability, bilateral inner ear nerve damage to include vertigo and loss of balance, right-sided tongue paralysis, right-sided vocal cord paralysis, residuals of strep throat with heart murmur, right-sided neck gland swelling with difficulty swallowing and a near-esophageal knot, right shoulder rotator cuff disability, bilateral hand nerve damage, brittle fingernails, heart palpitations, hypertension, bilateral leg disorder to include weakness, edema, vascular deterioration, and varicose veins, bilateral knee disorder to include cartilage deterioration, bone grinding, and fatigue, bilateral ankle disorder to include edema, bilateral foot nerve damage to include the balls of the feet and the toes, brittle toenails, residuals of pneumonia, and dry skin. The claims were denied as not being related to service or any other basis.

The case is being remanded for scheduling a Board hearing by video conference. The Veteran's appeals regarding service connection and increased rating for psoriasis, as well as the BHA request, will be addressed after the hearing.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for right shoulder disabilities was granted effective September 25, 1997. The initial rating of 10% has been assigned from September 25, 1997 to January 20, 2011 and a higher rating of 20% has been assigned since January 20, 2011.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining Social Security Administration records and any outstanding VA medical records.

The Veteran's right shoulder disability has been rated at 10 percent since July 1994. The Board has now granted a higher rating of 20 percent, effective from the date of the decision.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for posttraumatic arthritis of the left elbow, right elbow, right shoulder and left foot/ankle was denied as there is no evidence of such condition during or within one year after service. The Board found that the Veteran did not present a valid claim for this disability.

The Board found that the appellant's current back, shoulder, foot, and hand disabilities did not manifest during his periods of active duty for training (ACDUTRA) or inactive duty for training (INACDUTRA), and are not etiologically related to service. As such, service connection was denied.