The Board has determined that the veteran's residuals of a shell fragment wound (SFW) of the left shoulder warrant a 20 percent rating, reflecting moderate impairment in muscle function.
The deciding factor: The VA examination reports and medical history show residual muscle impairment with retained foreign bodies and scar tissue, consistent with moderate disability under Diagnostic Code 5303.
- Claimed conditions
- shell fragment wound of the left shoulder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- January 17, 2003
- Citation
- 0302029
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 685 · Granted: 36% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 0302029.
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 Veteran's left shoulder disability is currently rated at 20 percent, but the Board finds that a higher rating is not warranted as his range of motion does not meet criteria for an increased rating.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for a shell fragment wound of the left shoulder is being remanded due to incomplete development and consideration.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the veteran's residuals of a shell fragment wound to the left shoulder, including two or three unremarkable scars in the left shoulder area, were incurred during military service and grants service connection for this condition.
- Denied
The June 1966 decision assigned a 20 percent rating for residuals of a shell fragment wound of the left shoulder, which was upheld as not clearly and unmistakably erroneous.
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