The veteran's claims for service connection for right shoulder strain, left ankle strain, and a chronic disability manifested by chest pain were denied as there was no evidence linking these conditions to his military service.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence did not support a link between the current disabilities and the veteran's time in service. The first diagnosis of degenerative joint disease in the right shoulder was more than 25 years after discharge, and there was no evidence of an in-service injury or continuity of symptoms.
- Claimed conditions
- right shoulder strain, left ankle strain, chronic disability manifested by chest pain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 16, 2009
- Citation
- 0902010
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,071 · Granted: 26% (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 0902010.
What this means for you
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for right shoulder strain as there is no evidence of a chronic condition in service or within one year after discharge, and the medical opinion found that his current condition is not related to his military service.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities rendered him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation, and the Board has granted entitlement to total disability based on individual unemployability.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for left ankle strain, finding that there is clear and unmistakable evidence that the condition preexisted active service and was not aggravated by service. The appeal is dismissed.
- Denied
The Veteran's annual clothing allowance for a foot and ankle brace in the 2022 calendar year was denied because the evidence did not show that any such brace tended to wear out or tear his clothing.
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