The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for a bilateral shoulder disorder as secondary to his service-connected type II diabetes mellitus, and also denied an increased initial evaluation for type II diabetes mellitus.
The deciding factor: The VA medical opinions were more probative than the private physician statements, indicating that the veteran's shoulders are well-healed after surgeries and that degenerative arthritis is not caused or aggravated by his diabetes mellitus.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral shoulder disorder
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 16, 2009
- Citation
- 0901934
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Partly granted
The appeal was denied for service connection of a cervical spine disorder, and several claims were remanded for further development.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for further evidentiary development and to obtain additional medical opinions.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed all claims for higher initial ratings and service connection, as the Veteran requested a higher-level review of these issues in May 2024 but then appealed to the Board in August 2024, leading to concurrent review which is not allowed.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issues of service connection for peripheral neuropathy and a bilateral shoulder disorder due to challenges regarding the competency of the medical examiner.
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