The Board has granted service connection for a bilateral shoulder disorder and an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for major depression, but denied service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder other than major depression.
The deciding factor: Service treatment records show multiple injuries to the Veteran's shoulders during active duty service, including an assault that resulted in shoulder pain. Post-service VA treatment records confirm ongoing shoulder problems and diagnoses of impingement syndromes related to rotator cuff tendinopathy. The Board finds these findings sufficient to establish a direct connection between the Veteran's current shoulder conditions and his military service.
- Claimed conditions
- Acquired psychiatric disorder (major depression with undifferentiated somatoform disorder), Bilateral shoulder disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- January 30, 2015
- Citation
- 1504485
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 1504485.
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.
- Partly granted
The appeal was denied for service connection of a cervical spine disorder, and several claims were remanded for further development.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for further evidentiary development and to obtain additional medical opinions.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed all claims for higher initial ratings and service connection, as the Veteran requested a higher-level review of these issues in May 2024 but then appealed to the Board in August 2024, leading to concurrent review which is not allowed.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issues of service connection for peripheral neuropathy and a bilateral shoulder disorder due to challenges regarding the competency of the medical examiner.
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