The Board has granted service connection for an upper back disability and assigned a 10 percent rating for chronic left shoulder sprain. The veteran's current symptoms include diffuse tenderness, discomfort on palpation of the anterior shoulder and acromioclavicular joint, as well as pain during abduction.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner opined that it is at least as likely as not that the current thoracic spine disability is due to injury in service. The veteran's left shoulder sprain resulted in mild impairment with diffuse tenderness and discomfort on palpation.
- Claimed conditions
- upper back disability, left shoulder sprain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- April 13, 2000
- Citation
- 0009848
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 0009848.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for tinnitus, remanded claims for service connection for an upper back disability and headaches, and remanded the claim for a compensable rating for left recurrent corneal erosion syndrome.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for lumbosacral strain, secondary to the Veteran's service-connected bilateral hip and knee disabilities, but denied service connection for an upper back disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for an upper back disability and lower back pain due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for tinnitus, an upper back disability, and a thoracolumbar spine disability as the evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were related to the Veteran's active or Reserve service.
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