The Board found no medical evidence linking the Veteran's current left shoulder disability to his service, and thus denied service connection for this condition.
The deciding factor: There is no medical evidence showing a nexus between the Veteran's in-service injury and his current left shoulder disability, and there are no post-service complaints or diagnoses of such a condition until nearly two decades after discharge from service.
- Claimed conditions
- left rotator cuff tear
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- March 8, 2016
- Citation
- 1609273
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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 1609273.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The appeal was dismissed due to the Veteran's death during the pendency of the appeal.
- Whole decision: Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for headaches diagnosed as migraines including migraine variants, but remanded the claims for hypertension, left rotator cuff tear, and right ear hearing loss.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The appeal is dismissed because the issues of service connection for various conditions are not ripe for appellate consideration.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for a left shoulder disability, finding that there was no credible evidence of an in-service injury or continuity of symptoms since service.
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