Shoulder decisions — 2025

The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including prostate cancer and related disabilities, urinary incontinence, sleep apnea, hypertension, varicose veins, lumbar spine disability, hip arthritis, shoulder arthritis, ankle arthritis, knee strain, knee replacement, and hand arthritis. The only condition granted was a 10 percent rating for a fracture of the right proximal first metacarpal.

The Board granted service connection for bilateral lower radiculopathy (sciatic and femoral nerve) secondary to the Veteran's service-connected back condition, as well as a 20 percent rating for his lumbar spine myofascial sprain.

The Board granted service connection for headaches and increased ratings for left shoulder rotator cuff tear, right shoulder rotator cuff tear, hypertension, and left and right leg restless leg syndrome. The Board denied a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss and an initial rating in excess of 70 percent for posttraumatic stress disorder.

The Board denied service connection for multiple conditions, including bilateral hearing loss and various musculoskeletal issues, as well as an initial rating in excess of 0 percent for rhinitis. However, the Board granted a 70 percent rating for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The Board remands the claims for service connection for nocturia, left shoulder condition, and right shoulder condition due to a duty to assist error in not obtaining necessary medical opinions.

The Board granted service connection for multiple conditions, including an acquired psychiatric disorder, sleep apnea, hypertension, and various musculoskeletal and skin disabilities.

The Board denied the Veteran's appeal for increased ratings for right and left shoulder disabilities, as the evidence did not support a higher rating under applicable criteria.

The Board granted a 50 percent rating for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and denied increased ratings for right shoulder impingement syndrome, hearing loss, painful scar, patellofemoral pain syndromes of the knees, and other conditions.

The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including sinusitis, elbows condition, cervical condition, erectile dysfunction, kidney condition, sleep apnea, wrists condition, asthma, shoulders condition, ankles condition, eye condition (bilateral dry macular degeneration), peripheral vascular disease (heart condition), and rhinitis.

The Board denied service connection for the veteran's claimed conditions, including right shoulder arthritis, left shoulder arthritis, right hip condition, left hip condition, low back disability, and bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy, as there was no evidence of in-service injury or illness related to these conditions.

The Board granted a disability rating of 50 percent for the Veteran's left shoulder disability and service connection for peripheral neuropathy of the left upper extremity, both secondary to his service-connected left shoulder disability.

The Board granted a 70% rating for PTSD from November 25, 2015 to August 12, 2024 and a 40% rating for the right shoulder disability. It also granted 10% ratings for both feet and 20% ratings for knee patellofemoral pain syndromes.

The Board denied service connection for gallbladder disability, pre-cancer polyps and colon problems, and dental condition, but granted a 40 percent rating for right shoulder injury and a 30 percent rating for right elbow disability.

The Board granted an effective date of May 17, 2019, for a 70 percent disability rating for PTSD but denied earlier effective dates for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus.

The veteran's appeal requests for service connection and increased ratings were denied due to untimeliness, as the appeals were not filed within one year of the respective rating decisions.

The Board denied an initial increased rating for diabetes mellitus type II and remanded the claims for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, right shoulder strain with acromioclavicular joint osteoarthritis and tendinitis, cervical spine spondylosis, left knee degenerative arthritis, right knee degenerative arthritis, and thoracolumbar scoliosis and lumbar spine degenerative changes.

The Board granted service connection for tinnitus and a right hip disability, and granted a 30 percent rating for ureterolithiasis. The claim for an increased rating for PTSD was denied, while other claims were remanded.

The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including a head injury, headache disorder, erectile dysfunction, left earache disorder, chronic fatigue, right shoulder disorder, irritable bowel syndrome, right foot disorder, GERD, and left shoulder disorder, as the evidence did not support current diagnoses of these conditions.

The Board denied a rating in excess of 10 percent for GERD, as the Veteran's symptoms did not meet the criteria for a higher rating.

The Board denied service connection for various disabilities and denied higher ratings for several service-connected conditions.