The Board found that the Veteran's right shoulder disability is not proximately due to or the result of his service-connected right knee instability, and thus denied service connection for a right shoulder disability as secondary to the service-connected right knee instability. The claim for restoration of a 10 percent evaluation for service-connected right knee instability was also denied.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner opined that the Veteran's right shoulder disorder is not caused by or the result of his service-connected right knee and lumbar conditions, based on the history provided by the Veteran and physical examination findings.
- Claimed conditions
- Right Shoulder Rotator Cuff Tear
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 29, 2010
- Citation
- 1040718
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 1040718.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran has been granted a total disability rating based on individual unemployability and special monthly compensation due to the service-connected disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) as the evidence did not establish that his service-connected disabilities had precluded him from obtaining and maintaining substantially gainful employment.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that there was a duty to assist error and remanded the claims for further development. The Veteran's service connection claims for right and left shoulder rotator cuff tears are being returned to the AOJ for additional consideration.
- Denied
The Veteran's right shoulder rotator cuff tear has been rated at 10 percent prior to May 23, 2016, and at 20 percent thereafter. The Veteran does not meet the criteria for a higher rating due to functional loss but no limitation of motion to midway between the side and shoulder level.,The Veteran's umbilical hernia repair has been rated as noncompensable (zero percent). The evidence does not support a finding that her condition meets or approximates the criteria for a compensable rating.
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