The veteran's claim for an increased rating for his service-connected gunshot wound to the right shoulder is granted, and he is assigned a 10 percent disability rating. The claim for an initial disability rating in excess of 10 percent for postoperative malignant schwannoma of the right knee due to Agent Orange exposure is also granted.
The deciding factor: The veteran's service-connected gunshot wound to the right shoulder was found to warrant a 10 percent disability rating based on the evidence provided.
- Claimed conditions
- postoperative malignant schwannoma of the right knee, gunshot wound to the right shoulder
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- May 21, 2004
- Citation
- 0413104
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,435 · Granted: 22% (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 0413104.
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 right shoulder disability, resulting from a gunshot wound, has been rated at 40 percent since 1970. The Board found that the current rating of 50 percent is warranted based on severe impairment of strength and atrophy of Muscle Groups I, II, and III.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for further development, including a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of any current Type I or Type II diabetes mellitus, as well as the severity of the veteran's service-connected right shoulder disability. The issues include determining whether the veteran's diabetes is related to his period of active duty service from May 1967 to March 1970, including as due to presumed herbicide exposure, and whether he should receive a higher rating for his service-connected right shoulder condition.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased disability ratings for his service-connected postoperative malignant schwannoma of the right knee and residuals of a gunshot wound to the right shoulder, Muscle Group III.
- Denied
The veteran's service-connected gunshot wound to the right shoulder is currently rated at 20 percent, and his PTSD is rated at 50 percent. The Board found that the evidence does not support a higher rating for either condition.
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