Shoulder decisions — 2020

The Board has reopened the Veteran's claim for service connection for osteoarthritis of the spine and remanded his claims for service connection for a left shoulder disorder, a left arm disorder, and an acquired psychiatric disability (PTSD, anxiety and depression).

The Board has dismissed all appeals related to service connection for various knee and shoulder conditions, as the Veteran died before a decision could be made.

The Board has granted service connection for right shoulder rotator cuff tear and acquired psychiatric disability, including PTSD, major depressive disorder, anxiety disorder, and insomnia. The Veteran's right shoulder disability is found to have begun during active service.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection and TDIU due to issues related to the Veteran's death. The Appellant is seeking to substitute as the claimant in these matters, but the AOJ must first determine if she meets eligibility criteria.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for cervical degenerative joint disease, thoracolumbar degenerative joint disease with compression fracture of T8, left foot scar, right shoulder strain with acromioclavicular joint separation, and left foot status-post tendon rupture with repair with degenerative joint disease of the calcaneus. The remand requires additional medical opinions to address the nature and etiology of these conditions.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities have precluded him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation, and the Board has granted TDIU benefits.

The Board has granted service connection for hypertension and remanded the remaining issues due to insufficient evidence.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for bilateral pes planus, bilateral shoulder disorders, and bilateral knee disorders due to inadequate VA examination rationales and failure to address the heightened duty to explain the benefit of the doubt rule.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's right shoulder and right knee disabilities were not incurred or aggravated during active service, and thus denied his claims for service connection.

The Board denied service connection for left shoulder, right shoulder, cervical spine, and thoracolumbar spine disabilities due to a lack of evidence showing these conditions were incurred in or are otherwise causally related to service.,The appellant's service treatment records did not document the reported injuries, and post-service private clinical records attributed his current disabilities to work-related causes.

The Veteran's squamous cell carcinoma, lymph node in the neck, and hyperuricemia and arthritis conditions of the spine, shoulders, wrists, hands, arms, ankles, legs, and feet are granted service connection. The arthritis conditions were recharacterized to include all arthritic conditions reasonably raised by the record.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a right shoulder disability, finding that there is not enough evidence to link his current condition to his active duty service.

The Board has denied service connection for a left shoulder disability and sleep apnea, finding that the preponderance of evidence does not support a link to service. The Veteran's headaches are also remanded for further examination.,Service connection is being denied as there is no credible evidence linking the current conditions to service.

The Board denied service connection for a right shoulder disability and denied initial compensable ratings for Pseudofolliculitis Barbae (PFB) and facial scars associated with PFB.,The Veteran's claim of entitlement to an initial rating in excess of 30 percent for facial scars associated with PFB is remanded.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's right knee disability had its onset during active service and granted service connection for this condition. However, there is no evidence of a current left shoulder/arm disability to support service connection.

The Board has determined that further development is necessary due to outstanding treatment records and remanded the claims for service connection for various disabilities, including ankle, hip, and shoulder conditions. The Veteran will need new examinations to determine the nature and etiology of these conditions.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for various foot, ankle, knee, shoulder, and anxiety conditions due to new evidence submitted by the Veteran. The issues have been reopened.

The Veteran's anxiety disorder with major depressive disorder is granted a 70 percent rating, radiculopathy of the right and left lower extremities are each granted a 10 percent rating, and her right shoulder sprain is granted a 40 percent rating. The Veteran is also granted TDIU.

The Veteran's service connection claims for chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, heart condition, hypertension, right arm shaking (Gulf War Syndrome), left arm shaking (Gulf War Syndrome), dizziness, pain/tenderness on jaw, cheek bones and forehead (myalgia), headaches, sinusitis, non-allergic vasomotor rhinitis, PTSD with associated depression and anxiety, right shoulder pain, left shoulder pain, trochanteric pain syndrome of the right hip, trochanteric pain syndrome of the left hip, degenerative arthritis of the right knee, degenerative arthritis of the left knee, degenerative arthritis of the right ankle with ankle strain and calcaneal spur, left ankle strain, cervical spondylosis, lumbosacral strain, erectile dysfunction (Gulf War Syndrome), and tonsillitis have all been denied.,The Veteran's service connection claims for chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, heart condition, hypertension, right arm shaking (Gulf War Syndrome), left arm shaking (Gulf War Syndrome), dizziness, pain/tenderness on jaw, cheek bones and forehead (myalgia), headaches, sinusitis, non-allergic vasomotor rhinitis, PTSD with associated depression and anxiety, right shoulder pain, left shoulder pain, trochanteric pain syndrome of the right hip, trochanteric pain syndrome of the left hip, degenerative arthritis of the right knee, degenerative arthritis of the left knee, degenerative arthritis of the right ankle with ankle strain and calcaneal spur, left ankle strain, cervical spondylosis, lumbosacral strain, erectile dysfunction (Gulf War Syndrome), and tonsillitis have all been denied.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's joint pain and right shoulder disability are not related to his military service. The preponderance of evidence does not support a finding that these conditions were caused or aggravated by his active duty.