The Board denied service connection for tuberculous spondylitis and granted a 20% rating for the veteran's left shoulder disability, finding that the evidence did not support service connection but found that the disability warranted a higher rating than what was initially assigned.
The deciding factor: The Board determined that there was no competent medical evidence to support the claim of tuberculous spondylitis and denied it. For the left shoulder disability, the Board noted that while the veteran's pain and weakness were significant, they did not meet the criteria for a higher rating under any applicable diagnostic codes.
- Claimed conditions
- tuberculous spondylitis, left shoulder injury
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- February 3, 2004
- Citation
- 0403050
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 0403050.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's claims for service connection for left shoulder, left arm, and right knee disabilities have been granted due to new evidence presented. The cases are being remanded for further examination and rating.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for service connection for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma was denied, and the Board found that no effective date prior to May 30, 2019 is warranted.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's request to recognize his December 17, 2008 correspondence as a timely and valid Notice of Disagreement (NOD) with the November 2008 rating decision. The underlying compensation claims will be addressed in a separate Board decision under the Legacy appeal system.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals seeking service connection for various conditions have been dismissed due to the withdrawal of his appeal by his authorized representative.
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