Shoulder decisions — 2025

The Board remands the claims for service connection for headaches and a right shoulder disability for further development, including obtaining medical opinions.

The Board denied the veteran's appeal for timely filing of an appeal request, dismissing the attempted appeal.

The Board denied service connection for right shoulder impingement syndrome, allergic rhinitis, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus. However, it granted service connection for headaches and remanded the claims for an initial rating in excess of 50 percent for adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood and alcohol use disorder.

The Board remands the claims for increased ratings for lumbosacral strain, left shoulder rotator cuff tendonitis, and GERD due to inadequate VA examinations that do not discount the beneficial effects of medication.

The Board granted a 30 percent rating for headaches with auras and a 10 percent rating for temporomandibular joint disorders, unspecified. Service connection was denied for various conditions including disabilities causing numbness, hearing loss, hip and spine issues, chest pain, dizziness, erectile dysfunction, psychiatric disorder, wrist disability, shortness of breath, ankle and eye pain, and sleep apnea.

The Board granted service connection for hypertension and reversed the severance of service connection for several conditions, including hypothyroidism, scars status post thyroidectomy and laryngeal cancer, diabetes mellitus type 2, glaucoma, and laryngeal cancer.

The Board remands the claims for service connection for right shoulder disability, left shoulder disability, and neck disability due to a duty to assist error.

The Board remands the claims for service connection for various musculoskeletal and joint disorders due to a need for additional evidence and an adequate VA examination.

The appeal for service connection for lower back disability, right shoulder disability, and traumatic brain injury (TBI) was denied due to the untimely filing of the Board Appeal request.

The Board granted earlier effective dates for the grants of service connection and ratings for various conditions, including PTSD, based on the Veteran's intent to file a claim submitted in February 2023.

The Board granted service connection for a left shoulder condition, thoracolumbar spine condition, and cervical spine condition as they are directly related to the Veteran's active military service.

The Board denied service connection for anterior labrum tear, left shoulder and a compensable disability rating for scar, left shoulder, status post-arthroscopy.

The Board granted service connection for sleep apnea, left shoulder bicipital tendon tear, hypogonadism, erectile dysfunction, and left carpal tunnel syndrome. The claims for increased ratings for lumbar spondylosis with facet arthropathy and lumbosacral strain, right hip strain with osteoarthritis, other specified trauma and stressor related disorder, left and right ankle lateral collateral ligament sprain, right shoulder rotator cuff tear, left knee patellofemoral pain syndrome, right knee patellofemoral pain syndrome (to include iliotibial band syndrome), and chronic right wrist sprain were denied. The Board also granted an effective date of July 7, 2023 for the award of increased ratings.

The veteran withdrew the appeal for all service connection claims, and the Board has no jurisdiction to review these matters.

The Board granted service connection for lumbosacral strain, cervical strain, left shoulder strain, and right shoulder strain.

The Board granted service connection for tinnitus and right knee osteoarthritis, but denied service connection for left knee degenerative arthritis, right hand degenerative arthritis, left hand degenerative arthritis, left shoulder subdeltoid bursitis (claimed as degenerative arthritis), right shoulder strain (claimed as degenerative arthritis), major depressive disorder, and an anxiety disorder.

The Board denied service connection for right foot degenerative joint disease of first MTP joint and hallux rigidus, left foot degenerative joint disease of first MTP joint and hallux rigidus (secondary to the right foot condition), and left shoulder strain and rotator cuff tendonitis.

The Board granted service connection for radiculopathy of the left upper extremity and denied increased ratings for tinnitus and bilateral hearing loss, while remanding claims for a cervical spine disability, hypertension, and a left shoulder disorder.

The Board remands the claims for service connection for GERD, left shoulder conditions, and bilateral trigger finger to correct pre-decisional duty to assist errors by obtaining adequate VA medical opinions.

The Board remands the claim for a left shoulder disability to secure an addendum opinion that adequately considers the Veteran's reported in-service injury and continuous symptoms.