The Veteran's left shoulder disability, including his trapezius strain, is caused by his service-connected status-post fractured cervical spine at C4 and thus he is granted service connection for this condition.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner opined that the intermittent left trapezius strain was secondary to the service-connected cervical spine disability based on the Veteran's history of neck pain radiating down his shoulder during service, as well as current symptoms consistent with those in service.
- Claimed conditions
- left shoulder strain, left trapezius strain
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 21, 2012
- Citation
- 1232686
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 1232686.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is remanded for additional development, including obtaining clarification from the August 2017 VA examiner regarding which symptoms are related to his service-connected left trapezius strain and whether any non-service-connected conditions represent a progression of that disability.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's hypertension, left shoulder strain, and right shoulder disability are all granted as service-connected.,The Veteran is also remanded for a rating in excess of 10 percent for degenerative arthritis of the spine and for service connection for sleep apnea.
- Denied
The Veteran's initial 10% disability rating for left shoulder strain was upheld as there was no clear and unmistakable error in the September 2010 Rating Decision.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient medical opinions and a need for additional examination.
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