The Board has granted a 20 percent rating for the veteran's service-connected shell fragment wound residuals of the neck, back and left upper extremity. Separate 10 percent ratings are also assigned for tender scars at the base of the left trapezius and in the lateral posterior thorax area, as well as mild median nerve partial paralysis in the left forearm.
The deciding factor: The veteran's medical records provided credible evidence of severe muscle injury involving the trapezius muscles due to shell fragment wounds, with retained foreign bodies. The Board found that these residuals warranted a higher rating than previously assigned.
- Claimed conditions
- shell fragment wounds of the neck, shell fragment wound residuals of the back, shell fragment wound residuals of the left upper extremity
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- April 10, 2003
- Citation
- 0306943
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 3,038 · Granted: 30% (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 0306943.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus and has remanded the issues of increased ratings for shell fragment wound residuals of the bilateral upper and lower extremities, as well as the issue of TDIU.
- Denied
The Veteran's death was not service-connected due to his pre-existing conditions and the denial of DIC benefits under 38 U.S.C. § 1318.
- Remanded (sent back)
The veteran's appeal is being remanded to the RO for additional development, including obtaining private medical records and arranging for VA examinations. The purpose of this development is to gather information necessary to determine if increased ratings are warranted for his service-connected shell fragment wound residuals of the left arm and back.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
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