The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection of a left shoulder disability and an earlier effective date for his lumbar spine disability, finding that there was no evidence linking these conditions to military service or any service-connected disabilities.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence did not establish a nexus between the current left shoulder arthritis and active military service. The VA examiner concluded that the veteran's degenerative joint disease of the left shoulder was less likely than not secondary to his right knee disability or low back condition.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative Joint Disease of the Left Shoulder, Osteoarthritis of the Left Shoulder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- September 11, 2006
- Citation
- 0628725
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,643 · Granted: 15% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0628725.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's current obstructive sleep apnea is proximately due to his obesity, which was caused by his service-connected degenerative joint disease of the left shoulder, left knee degenerative joint disease, and right knee degenerative joint disease. As such, service connection for obstructive sleep apnea as secondary to these conditions has been granted.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for an increased rating for his left shoulder disability and TDIU are being remanded due to the need for additional medical examination and development of evidence. The Veteran is also reminded that he must cooperate with VA by submitting completed forms and providing relevant information.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the cases for additional development due to inconsistencies in the opinions provided by a nurse practitioner regarding the Veteran's flare-ups and their impact on disability ratings.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's left shoulder disability, which manifested pain at 25 degrees of flexion and abduction, is granted a 30 percent disability rating for the entire initial rating period prior to March 1, 2018.
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