The Veteran's osteoarthritis of the left shoulder, neck, and thoracic joints is not considered to be secondary or aggravated by his service-connected injury of the thoracic muscles with resection of the fourth rib.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found that the arthritis was unrelated to the 1997 surgery and related findings were unrelated to the original injury of the thoracic muscles during open-heart surgery in 1997.
- Claimed conditions
- osteoarthritis of the left shoulder, osteoarthritis of the neck, osteoarthritis of the thoracic joints
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 4, 2012
- Citation
- 1219577
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 1219577.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied an earlier effective date for the award of service connection for torn labrum and osteoarthritis of the left shoulder, finding no unadjudicated claim prior to October 20, 2014.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for osteoarthritis of the left knee is granted. The claim for service connection for osteoarthritis of the left shoulder is remanded.
- Denied
The Veteran's motion to revise a non-compensable rating decision for osteoarthritis of the left shoulder is denied as there was no clear and unmistakable error in the original determination.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for osteoarthritis of the left shoulder, resolving reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran.
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