Shoulder decisions — 2025

The Board remands the claim for a right shoulder disability to obtain an adequate medical opinion regarding its etiology, including whether it is related to service or secondary to a service-connected back or neck condition.

The Board remands the claims for service connection and an increased rating due to deficiencies in VA's duty to assist.

The Board granted service connection for right leg shin splints, right trochanteric pain syndrome (claimed as groin injury), and right shoulder surgical scars and status post right shoulder surgery for adhesive capsulitis. The back disability claim was remanded.

The Board granted service connection for persistent depressive disorder and somatic symptom disorder, and assigned a 70 percent rating for other specified trauma and stressor related disorder with mild alcohol use disorder. The claims for increased ratings for the right shoulder strain and IBS were denied.

The Board granted service connection for tinnitus and a right shoulder disability, but denied service connection for obesity. The claims for diabetes mellitus, type II, and an acquired psychiatric disability were remanded.

The Board granted service connection for right and left knee arthritis, right and left shoulder arthritis, and right and left wrist arthritis based on evidence showing the conditions had their onset in and have continued since service.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for earlier effective dates and increased ratings, finding no evidence of worsening conditions within one year prior to filing.

The veteran withdrew the appeals for service connection for right shoulder, left shoulder, lower back, and testicular conditions.

The Veteran's service connection for bilateral tinnitus was granted, while the claims for right and left shoulder disabilities, as well as right and left knee disabilities, were remanded.

The appeal was dismissed due to the death of the Appellant while it was pending before the Board.

The Board denied service connection for left ear hearing loss and a bilateral eye disability, but remanded claims for right ear hearing loss, knee, shoulder, and arm disabilities due to insufficient evidence.

The Board denied service connection for left, right shoulder, right thumb, and right thigh disabilities as the evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were related to the Veteran's active service.

The Board denied various claims for increased ratings, earlier effective dates, and other benefits due to the lack of evidence supporting a higher rating or an earlier effective date.

The Veteran is granted a temporary total rating for his left shoulder disorder due to the need for convalescence following surgery.

The Board denied service connection for a left shoulder disability, right hand disability, and cervical spine disability as the evidence did not show that these conditions were related to active military service or incurred therein.

The Board remands the veteran's claims for service connection for various disorders, including shoulder, elbow, wrist, low back, knee, neuropathy, sleep apnea, heart, colon resection, skin cancer, and diabetes mellitus, due to inadequate VA examinations that did not address all relevant evidence.

The appeal was dismissed due to the Veteran's death while it was pending.

The appeal for service connection for left shoulder rotator cuff tear with acromioclavicular joint osteoarthritis and shoulder joint replacement was dismissed as the Veteran's claim had already been granted in a February 2025 rating decision.

The Board remands the claims for service connection for hypertension, degenerative disc disease (DDD), and a right shoulder injury to correct an error by the AOJ to satisfy its duty to assist the Veteran under 38 U.S.C. § 5103A.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for left and right ankle, shoulder, and wrist conditions due to a lack of evidence supporting current disabilities or in-service injuries.