The Board found no relationship between the Veteran's cervical spine and left shoulder disabilities with his service, thus denying service connection for both conditions.
The deciding factor: There is no medical evidence showing a direct link between the Veteran's current disabilities and his military service.
- Claimed conditions
- hemilaminectomy and diskectomy of the cervical spine, left shoulder rotator cuff repair
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- July 13, 2009
- Citation
- 0926084
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 0926084.
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: Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a left shoulder condition to obtain an adequate medical opinion regarding its etiology, including whether it is secondary to the Veteran's service-connected right shoulder acromioclavicular joint osteoarthritis status post acromioplasty or due to in-service treatment for left shoulder impingement syndrome.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for left shoulder rotator cuff repair, erectile dysfunction, and sinusitis due to duty-to-assist errors in obtaining medical opinions. The Veteran's current conditions are being reviewed with additional evidence considered.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's claims for service connection for tachycardia, increased rating for left shoulder disability, and compensable rating for left shoulder scar were denied. The claim for a rating of 60 percent for asthma was granted.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate development of in-service medical records and incomplete opinions regarding the Veteran's PTSD, TBI, and left shoulder disability. The claims for service connection are pending.
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