Shoulder decisions — 2020

The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for his left shoulder condition, finding that it is related to his in-service training and resolving all reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for left knee and right shoulder disorders have been reopened, but the Board has not yet decided whether these conditions are related to service.,The Veteran's claims for effective dates earlier than April 27, 2017 for PTSD with depressive disorder, TBI, and tinnitus have been denied as there is no evidence of a claim prior to that date.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims of service connection for right and left shoulder disabilities due to conflicting evidence regarding their onset during or relation to service.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to insufficient opinions regarding his reported in-service injuries and self-medication.

The Board has granted service connection for a left shoulder disability as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected degenerative disc and joint disease of the cervical spine.

The Board has decided that the Veteran's right shoulder disability is not service-connected, and has ordered additional development to gather more evidence before deciding the case again.

The Veteran's right shoulder sprain is rated at 30 percent, hypertension is granted, and the left leg condition does not meet service connection criteria.

The Veteran's claims for nerve damage to the left side of face and eye, color blindness in the left eye, bronchitis, right collarbone condition with nerve damage, hemorrhoids, and acquired psychiatric conditions are being remanded due to incomplete service treatment records.

The Board has granted service connection for hypertension and headaches secondary to hypertension, but denied service connection for other conditions due to lack of evidence or causal relationship.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for left shoulder condition, right shoulder degenerative arthritis, and right leg condition have all been denied.,Service connection cannot be established as the evidence does not show a current disability or link to active duty service.

The Veteran's claims for service connection and SMC are being remanded due to deficiencies in the record existing prior to the appealed rating decision. Further development is needed, including obtaining VA treatment records from before March 2018 and a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of his psoriatic arthritis.

The Veteran's appeal was dismissed because her Notice of Disagreement (NOD) did not clearly identify the specific issues she wanted to appeal.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's claims for service connection for right shoulder, left shoulder, helicobacter-associated pyloric ulcer, right knee, and left knee conditions are not properly adjudicated based on the current evidence of record. The VA examinations were deemed inadequate to determine whether these conditions are related to military service.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for various disabilities, including left shoulder, right elbow, left elbow, right wrist, left wrist (carpal tunnel syndrome), right hip, left hip, right knee, and bilateral hearing loss. The AOJ is instructed to obtain all available records from the Veteran’s National Guard service, particularly those from 2014 through his retirement in March 2018.

The Board denied service connection for degenerative arthritis of the bilateral shoulders and peripheral neuropathy of the left and right upper extremities (claimed as bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome) due to lack of evidence linking these conditions to service or service-connected disabilities.,The Veteran's claims were based on his contention that his shoulder pain and CTS are secondary to his service-connected foot, knee, and back conditions and/or the use of assistive devices for such.

The Board has granted service connection for lumbar spine, cervical spine, left shoulder, left knee, right foot disabilities and residuals of traumatic brain injury (TBI) to include acquired psychiatric disorder to include anxiety disorder, major depressive disorder and PTSD. The Veteran's current conditions are believed to be related to in-service injuries during airborne training.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not prevent him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation, and his TDIU claim is denied.

The Board has ordered the remand of two issues related to service connection for right and left shoulder disorders due to incomplete compliance with previous remands. The Veteran's claims are being returned for further development, including obtaining additional medical records and conducting a new examination.

The Veteran's right shoulder strain was granted a rating of 20 percent from March 19, 2008 to August 20, 2013. The left shoulder strain and thoracolumbar strain were both granted ratings of 20 percent from May 7, 2008 to August 20, 2013. Hypertension was denied. Service connection for a bone disorder and sleep apnea were also denied.

The Veteran was unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation due to his service-connected disabilities, which rendered him unemployable. His TDIU claim for substitution purposes is granted.