Shoulder decisions — 2025

The Board denied service connection for a left hamstring disability, pseudofolliculitis barbae, and various other disabilities. The claims for service connection for left ankle, right ankle, acquired psychiatric, systemic lupus erythematosus, lumbar spine, right shoulder, right hip, left knee, right knee, and bilateral shin splints were remanded.

The Board granted an increased 30 percent disability rating for a right shoulder disability beginning on March 20, 2020, and denied a rating in excess of 20 percent prior to this time.

The appeal concerning the issues of entitlement to service connection for various conditions is dismissed due to the Veteran's death while the appeal was pending.

The Board remands the claims for a new VA examination to address the current severity of the Veteran's right shoulder and left ankle disabilities, as the previous examinations were insufficient.

The veteran's appeal for service connection was dismissed due to untimely filing.

The Board denied the veteran's appeal for extensions of time to file appeals related to several claims, including right shoulder disorder, left-hand finger disorder, bilateral hearing loss, lumbar spine disorder, bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy, and PTSD.

The Board granted service connection for skin cancer on the back, ears, forehead, cheeks and remanded claims for right shoulder disability, bilateral hearing loss disability, left lateral epicondylitis and ulnar neuropathy (left elbow disability), and left and right foot plantar fasciitis (feet disability).

The Board remands the claims for service connection for asthma, hypertension, left shoulder disability, left ankle disability, and left knee disability due to insufficient evidence.

The Board denied the claims for service connection for neck and cervical spine injury with fusion, right shoulder strain, and sciatic nerve injury as new and relevant evidence was not submitted since the previous denial.

The Board remands the claim for service connection for cause of death due to a need for additional evidence and an adequate medical examination.

The Board granted service connection for left lower extremity radiculopathy and remanded several other claims, including those for a mental health condition, left shoulder disability, costochondritis, reactive airway disease, and hypertension. The claim for lumbosacral strain to include herniated disc was dismissed.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for an increased evaluation for unspecified anxiety disorder and remanded claims for service connection for left shoulder, right shoulder, and back conditions.

The Board granted service connection for allergic rhinitis, sinusitis, CFS, dermatosis of the stomach, headaches, left arm dermatosis, left shoulder pain, right shoulder pain, left hand post-traumatic residual pain, and tinnitus. The claims for service connection for left ear hearing loss, right ear hearing loss, PTSD, an acquired psychiatric disorder other than PTSD, and alcohol use disorder were denied.

The veteran's appeal requests for extensions to file an appeal on various rating decisions were denied, and the attempted appeals are dismissed.

The Board granted service connection for sinusitis, right knee disability, and thoracic spine strain, and assigned initial ratings of 40%, 30%, and 30% respectively. The claims for increased rating for left shoulder disability (osteoarthritic changes) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) were also granted with the same respective ratings.

The Board denied increased ratings for multiple service-connected conditions and denied service connection for several additional conditions, granting service connection for headaches.

The Board denied service connection for major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, insomnia, left knee disability, right knee disability, left shoulder disability, and low back disability as the evidence did not show a current diagnosis or functional limitation that could be considered a disability.

The Board denied a rating in excess of 20 percent for the Veteran's right shoulder disability and granted service connection for a chronic neck disability.

The Board remands the claims for service connection for various disabilities due to the Veteran's failure to appear for scheduled VA examinations, which he has now provided 'good cause' for.

The Board denied service connection for right and left shoulder disabilities, finding no evidence of a current disability during the pendency of the claim. The lumbosacral strain claim was remanded for further development.