Shoulder decisions — 2020

The Veteran's right shoulder disability, including residual osteoarthritis of the acromioclavicular joint and degenerative arthritis, has not met the criteria for a higher rating.,The Veteran is denied entitlement to TDIU as his service-connected disabilities do not prevent him from securing or following substantially gainful employment.

The Board denied service connection for right knee, right shoulder, cervical spine (post-C2-6 fusion), and lumbar spine DJD as the evidence did not support a causal relationship to service.

The Board has determined that the VA examinations obtained are inadequate and requires additional opinions to address the Veteran's claims for service connection of various disabilities, including cervical spine, left knee, right knee, right wrist, and right shoulder.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's right shoulder disability is etiologically related to service, and thus grants service connection for this condition.

Right shoulder strain has been granted service connection.,PTSD was initially rated at 70% prior to May 19, 2015, and upgraded to 100% thereafter.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection of various conditions, including lumbar spine disability, cervical spine disability, right shoulder disability, and right hand carpal tunnel syndrome. The Veteran's PTSD and mood disorder were also not granted an initial rating in excess of 70 percent.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for a heart condition was denied. The Board found no evidence of a current heart condition related to service.,For the right shoulder disability, an initial rating of 30% was granted prior to August 8, 2019, and this rating is maintained with limitation on higher ratings.

The Board has denied service connection for the Veteran's claimed left shoulder and left hip disabilities, finding that there is no evidence of a direct relationship between his current conditions and his military service.

The Board has reopened the Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, but remanded to obtain additional evidence and provide VA examinations.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a right shoulder disability and greater occipital nerve neuralgia.,There is no evidence of arthritis or other current disabilities related to service, leading to denial of both claims.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding whether the Veteran's pre-existing left shoulder disorder was aggravated by service. The claim will be reviewed again with a new opinion considering the Veteran and his spouse's statements about the history of the condition.

The Veteran's service-connected left ear hearing loss is not rated higher than noncompensable.,Right ear hearing loss was denied as there is no evidence of in-service noise exposure causing the condition.

The Board has determined that there was not substantial compliance with the June 2018 remand directives and requires another VA examination for the diffuse arthritis claim (other than right shoulder).

The Board has granted service connection for right and left knee conditions, a low back condition (to include as secondary to bilateral knee conditions), and a left shoulder condition. The evidence supports the finding that these conditions are related to active military service.

The Veteran's recurrent dislocation of the left shoulder is rated at 20 percent, and a separate 10 percent rating for posttraumatic arthritis is granted.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to inadequacies in the previous examination and opinion regarding service connection for a right shoulder disability. The examiner did not consider all service-connected disabilities, and there was no separate opinion addressing causation or aggravation by service-connected disabilities.

The Board has remanded the case for a new VA examination to assess the severity of the Veteran's left shoulder condition and for consideration of his TDIU claim. The issues of increased rating and TDIU are inextricably intertwined.

The Board denied an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for the right knee disability and denied service connection for right shoulder disorder, left shoulder disorder, and left knee disorder. The decision also noted that entitlement to a TDIU was not considered as it was not raised by the Veteran.

The Board denied service connection for right and left shoulder conditions, left foot condition, right and left knee conditions. The evidence did not support a finding that any of these conditions began during or were related to service.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including sleep disorder, eye disorder, arthritis of the cervical spine, right knee, hands, elbows, and right shoulder, as well as urinary problems, are being remanded due to insufficient examination opinions addressing prior findings.