Shoulder decisions — 2017

The Veteran's appeal has been withdrawn by the appellant through his authorized representative.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development, including VA examinations to determine the nature and etiology of his claimed disabilities.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including a new VA examination to address the etiology of his left shoulder disability and an updated audiological evaluation.

The Veteran's claim for an increased rating in excess of 20 percent for his chronic residuals of the left shoulder is denied. The current 20 percent rating adequately captures the Veteran's reported symptoms, including pain and limitation of motion.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's arthritis of the lumbar spine, cervical spine, and right shoulder are related to her active military service.,Reasoning: The March 2015 VA examiner opined that the Veteran's arthritis of the lumbar spine, cervical spine, and right shoulder were at least as likely as not related to her military service.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development to address the etiology of his right shoulder arthritis and to issue a statement of the case regarding increased evaluation for left ankle strain, service connection for right knee condition, left knee condition, right hip condition, left hip condition, and right ankle condition.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities prevent him from achieving a vocational goal as an automotive supervisor, and the Board finds that achievement of such a goal is not reasonably feasible.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for scheduling a video conference hearing and reissuing the Statement of the Case at her most recent address. The issues include higher initial ratings for various hip and knee disabilities, as well as service connection for bilateral shoulder disability.

The Board found that the Veteran's current left shoulder, right shoulder, and neck disabilities did not have their onset during service or are otherwise directly related to his military service. The VA examiner opined that these conditions are less likely as not caused by or aggravated by any service-connected disability.

The Veteran's claim for increased evaluations for his right shoulder disability is being remanded due to the need for additional development, including a new VA examination and obtaining recent VA treatment records.

The Veteran's claims for higher ratings for right knee and right shoulder osteoarthritis were denied as the evidence did not show that her conditions warranted a rating higher than the current assigned by VA.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including a new VA examination to assess the severity of his right shoulder disability and determine if there are any functional loss due to pain or other symptoms.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded due to the need for additional development and clarification of his claims, particularly regarding his left ear infection and shoulder dislocation.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome, finding that it was aggravated by active service. Service connection is denied for gout tophaceous arthritis.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for recurrent left shoulder dislocations and degenerative joint disease of the left shoulder have been denied as his conditions do not meet the criteria for a higher disability evaluation under applicable rating criteria.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is proximately due to, or aggravated by, his service-connected major depression. Therefore, the claim for service connection for OSA is granted.

The Veteran's current left knee and left shoulder disabilities were not incurred during active service, are not presumed to have been incurred in service, and are not related to an in-service injury, event, or disease.

The Board denied service connection for left shoulder, cervical and lumbar spine disabilities due to a lack of evidence showing these conditions were incurred or aggravated by military service.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's left shoulder disability, diagnosed as arthritis, was not incurred in service and is not caused or aggravated by his service-connected cervical spine strain with herniated disk at C3-4 with left radiculopathy.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for left shoulder rotator cuff tendonitis with degenerative changes and lumbar spine hypertrophic osteoarthritis were denied. The VA determined that the current ratings adequately reflect the severity of these conditions.