Shoulder decisions — 2024

The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's left shoulder condition, finding that it was incurred during his active military service.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claim for service connection for lumbosacral strain with degenerative arthritis of the spine due to conflicting evidence regarding its onset and etiology.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for sleep apnea has been granted as secondary to his service-connected posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).,A rating of 20 percent for lumbar strain is granted, but the Veteran's request for a higher rating for left shoulder sprain is denied.

The Veteran's appeals for increased ratings and earlier effective dates have been dismissed.,The Board has also remanded several issues including service connection claims.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for a mental condition (claimed as adjustment/mood disorder) is dismissed. The claims for service connection for left shoulder strain and right shoulder strain are remanded, while the claim for service connection for right shoulder arthritis is also remanded.

The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus, bilateral hearing loss, right shoulder condition, left shoulder condition, right leg condition, and left leg condition. The claims are denied for aggravation of pes planus.

The Veteran's cervical spine strain with IVDS, left upper extremity radiculopathy, right upper extremity radiculopathy, right shoulder strain with impingement syndrome, and left knee strain with patellofemoral pain syndrome and status post knee cartilage restoration surgery are all granted.,Service connection is established for these conditions based on their onset during active service.

Your appeals for service connection and disability evaluations have been dismissed due to the failure to file a timely substantive appeal.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's obstructive sleep apnea is proximately due to his service-connected primary insomnia disorder, right shoulder ac joint and glenohumeral joint degenerative joint disease, degenerative joint and disc disease, lumbosacral spine with compression deformity and degenerative arthritis, left knee retropatellar pain syndrome, right knee retropatellar pain syndrome, s/p left elbow sprain, left middle finger proximal interphalangeal joint dislocation, and right wrist s/p scapholunate ligament tear. As such, the Veteran's claim for service connection is granted.

The Board has dismissed the appeals for service connection of various conditions including right knee disability, left knee disability, right ankle disability, left shoulder disability, inguinal hernia, pancreatitis, and rotator cuff tendonitis due to the Veteran's death.

The Board granted an increased rating of 30 percent for the Veteran's service-connected left shoulder condition, effective from July 23, 2019.

The Veteran's right shoulder arthritis is granted as service-connected. The claims for left shoulder arthritis and right shoulder tendonitis are remanded.

The Board has granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea and has remanded the right shoulder disability claim.

The Board has remanded the claims for low back, right thigh, left hip, and right shoulder disabilities due to inadequate VA examinations conducted in January 2021.

Service connection is denied for hyperlipidemia, low back pain, diabetes mellitus, bladder disability, diminishing eyesight (cataracts), right lower extremity neurologic disability (diabetic neuropathy), right shoulder disability, erectile dysfunction, and allergic rhinitis.,The Veteran's service in the Southwest Asia theater of operations renders him a Persian Gulf War veteran. The PACT Act presumes service connection for qualifying chronic disabilities due to exposure to environmental hazards including fine particulate matter.

The Board has granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, finding that the Veteran's current diagnosis is caused by his service-connected disabilities (major depressive disorder with somatic chronic pain disorder, right shoulder dislocation, and left shoulder supraspinatus tendinopathy).

The Veteran's service-connection claims for right and left shoulder disabilities, and for right and left foot disabilities are being remanded due to pre-decisional duty to assist errors.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a right shoulder disability that began during service or was caused by service, and therefore denied his claim for service connection.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for total disability based on individual unemployability (TDIU) as his service-connected disabilities do not meet the criteria for schedular TDIU, and there is no evidence to suggest he is unable to obtain or maintain a substantially gainful occupation.

The Board has found that the VA examinations provided to the Veteran were inadequate, specifically in not addressing his lay statements regarding symptoms experienced during service. As a result, these claims are being remanded for further development.