The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for right shoulder disability, headaches, and right thumb, 3rd and 5th fingers disability. The Board also found that there is no evidence of a current right shoulder disability or headache disorder within one year of discharge.
The deciding factor: There is no competent medical evidence linking the veteran's current right shoulder disability or headache disorder to his service or any incident therein.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbosacral strain, right shoulder disability, right thumb, 3rd and 5th fingers disability, headaches, right knee chondromalacia (prior to April 17, 1998), right knee chondromalacia (from April 17, 1998 onwards), left knee chondromalacia (prior to April 17, 1998), left knee chondromalacia (from April 17, 1998 onwards), left shoulder tendinitis, disability of the right femoral head
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 4, 2002
- Citation
- 0217565
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 0217565.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Partly granted
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.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for lumbosacral strain and lumbar radicopathy, right side, secondary to the lumbosacral strain.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for lumbosacral strain, finding that the Veteran's low back injury occurred during a period of active duty for training (ADT) and continued therefrom.
- Dismissed
The appeals for restoration of ratings and for a higher disability rating were dismissed as the April 2025 rating decision did not make final decisions on these issues.
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