Shoulder decisions — 2024

The Veteran's service-connected left shoulder strain is granted an initial disability rating of 20 percent, effective August 25, 2021.

The Veteran's service connection for left shoulder dislocation with traumatic arthritis and right ankle degenerative arthritis was restored as both conditions are directly related to his military service.

The Veteran's right shoulder, left shoulder, and left ankle disabilities are being remanded for further review.,New evidence has been submitted supporting the claims of service connection for these conditions.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for residuals of right shoulder dislocation and headaches have been reopened, but denied. The claim for an acquired psychiatric disorder (including PTSD and insomnia disorder) has also been denied.,Service connection for the left shoulder condition is remanded.

The Veteran's claims for radiculopathy of the right and left lower extremities have been granted. The appeal is dismissed as these issues are no longer in dispute.,Right ear hearing loss was denied due to lack of audiometric findings meeting VA criteria.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for sleep apnea as secondary to his service-connected musculoskeletal conditions with obesity as an intermittent step. The evidence shows that the Veteran's weight gain, which is a result of his service-connected musculoskeletal conditions, led to his diagnosis of sleep apnea.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability and a left shoulder disability are being remanded due to the need for additional medical opinions regarding the relationship between these conditions and his service-connected diabetes mellitus.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions have been granted, and the cases are remanded due to new and relevant evidence.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's left shoulder disability did not have its onset in service and is not related to his active duty. Therefore, the claim for service connection for a left shoulder disability is denied.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for left shoulder, right shoulder, and right elbow disabilities due to a lack of evidence showing current disability or causation in service.

The Veteran seeks an earlier effective date for the award of service connection for migraines and right shoulder strain, but these claims have been dismissed as they are final due to a lack of timely appeal.,The Veteran also seeks higher initial ratings for his migraine headaches and right shoulder strain. These claims were denied as there is no evidence that warrants an increase in rating.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for a TBI has been denied as there is no evidence of a current disability and the Board finds that his lay assertions regarding a TBI are not credible.,The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for his left shoulder disorder has also been remanded due to insufficient evidence on record.

The Veteran's right ear hearing loss and TBI have been granted service connection. Service connection for left ear hearing loss, headache disorder, lumbar spine disorder, cervical spine disorder, right shoulder disorder, left knee disorder, and right knee disorder has been denied.

The Veteran's right shoulder disability is rated at 20 percent for limitation of motion, but does not meet the criteria for a higher rating as there is no evidence of ankylosis or impairment of the humerus, clavicle, or scapula.

The Board has decided that the Veteran's bilateral knee and shoulder disabilities, as well as his right arm disability, are related to service. However, due to a duty to assist error, the case is being remanded for further development.

The Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for increased ratings of right shoulder sprain and right knee Osgood-Schlatter's disease were denied as there was no evidence indicating the conditions had worsened prior to April 23, 2019.

The Veteran's appeal for an increased rating for GERD was dismissed because he withdrew his Notice of Disagreement.,The Veteran's appeal for service connection for a right shoulder condition was dismissed because he withdrew his Notice of Disagreement.

The Board denied service connection for several conditions, including right shoulder impingement syndrome, right wrist sprain, left wrist disability (claimed as pain), tumor, growth, cyst, and insomnia.

The Board has determined that new and relevant evidence has been submitted to re-adjudicate the claims for service connection for various disabilities. The claims are now remanded for further review.

The Veteran's initial rating for lumbar spine degenerative arthritis with multilevel degenerative disc disease was denied as it does not meet the criteria for a higher than 10 percent rating.,The Veteran's initial rating for left shoulder rotator cuff tendonitis was also denied as it does not meet the criteria for a higher than 20 percent rating.