The Board has determined that the veteran does not have a shoulder or thoracic/lumbar spine disability attributable to his active military service and therefore denied both claims for service connection.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found no nexus between any current shoulder or middle to low back disability and the veteran's time in service, and there is no evidence of arthritis within one year of separation from service.
- Claimed conditions
- shoulder disability, thoracic or lumbar spine disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 24, 2006
- Citation
- 0608603
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,458 · Granted: 24% (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 0608603.
What this means for you
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Dismissed
The appeal of the issues related to eczema and acne, carpal tunnel syndrome, cervical spine disability, shoulder disability, right ankle disability, left ankle disability, gastritis and GERD with hiatal hernia, and sleep disturbances have been dismissed.,An initial rating in excess of 10 percent for right knee pain with shin splints is denied. A rating of 10 percent, and no higher, for left leg shin splints is granted.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a current diagnosis of any claimed conditions and therefore, service connection for these conditions is denied.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for an increased evaluation of their shoulder disability has been dismissed due to the death of the Veteran during the pendency of the appeal.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for left foot disability, bilateral hand numbness, and shoulder disability due to a lack of VA examinations. The Veteran's service treatment records show he was seen for left shoulder pain in May 2006 and had left foot pain since returning from deployment. His lay statements indicate his hand numbness is related to his back injury. Participation in toxic exposure risk activities (TERA) during service has been conceded, but a VA examination is needed to determine the relationship between TERA and migraine headaches.
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