The Board found no evidence of a chronic left shoulder disorder in service and denied the Veteran's claim for service connection.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner concluded that the current left shoulder disorder is less likely than not related to service, as evidenced by normal X-ray findings of degenerative changes occurring with aging.
- Claimed conditions
- left shoulder degenerative changes
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 31, 2012
- Citation
- 1226463
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 1226463.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for cervical spine degenerative changes, left shoulder degenerative changes, lumbar spine degenerative changes, and right shoulder osteoarthritis due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error. The Veteran was not afforded VA examinations for these conditions.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for right shoulder degenerative changes, left shoulder degenerative changes, neck disability, right knee disability, left knee disability, and left hand arthritis as the evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were incurred in or aggravated by active military service.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's left shoulder disability, other than strain, is proximately due to his service-connected knee disabilities and thus grants service connection for this condition.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran meets the criteria for VR&E benefits, other than employment services, to include training in pursuit of a career as an attorney. The decision is based on the Veteran's service-connected disabilities and his vocational goal.
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