The Board found no evidence of a chronic shoulder disorder in service or continuity of symptoms thereafter, and there is no competent medical evidence linking the current DJD to service. Therefore, service connection for DJD of the bilateral shoulders was denied.
The deciding factor: There is no competent medical evidence establishing a link between the veteran's current DJD of the shoulders and his active service.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative Joint Disease (DJD) of the bilateral shoulders
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 13, 2003
- Citation
- 0304697
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,467 · Granted: 18% (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 0304697.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for higher initial ratings for service-connected DJD of the right and left shoulders are remanded due to insufficient examination findings. The claim for an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for service-connected DJD of the bilateral shoulders from July 3, 1997 to June 30, 2015 is also remanded.
- Granted
The Veteran's DJD of the bilateral shoulders is granted service connection. The Veteran's DJD of the lumbar spine is granted a rating of 20 percent as of July 3, 2014.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is being remanded to obtain additional medical records and provide him with a new VA examination to assess his bilateral shoulder disorder and lumbar spine disability.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the veteran does not have a current disability of DJD of the shoulders incurred or aggravated during active duty, inactive duty training, or reserve duty. The claim is denied.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.