The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral ankle and right shoulder disabilities, as well as COPD. The evidence did not support a finding of current disability or a nexus to service.
The deciding factor: The preponderance of the evidence was against a diagnosis of current disabilities and a link between any diagnosed conditions and service.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Ankle Disability, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), Right Shoulder Disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 26, 2006
- Citation
- 0618678
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,464 · Granted: 14% (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 0618678.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The claims for service connection for right and left shoulder disabilities are remanded. The claim for sleep disorder (claimed as sleep apnea) remains denied.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for right and left shoulder disabilities, finding insufficient evidence to establish an in-service event or injury related to his shoulders. The Veteran's current shoulder conditions are not linked to his military service.
- Granted
The Veteran's right shoulder disability, low back condition, bilateral knee disabilities, and left shoulder strain have been granted service connection. The Veteran's low back condition has been increased to a 40 percent evaluation, while the bilateral knee conditions remain at their current 10 percent evaluations.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the claim of service connection for COPD due to duty-to-assist errors and a need for a supplemental medical opinion.
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