The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral degenerative arthritis and impingement of the shoulders are at least as likely as not caused by an in-service fall.,For his back disability, a VA clinician is requested to provide an opinion on whether it is at least as likely as not related to service. The opinion should address whether any diagnosed condition is congenital or acquired.
The deciding factor: The private medical opinion provided rationale that the Veteran's bilateral shoulder disabilities were caused by an in-service fall, and a VA clinician is needed to provide similar reasoning for his back disability.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative Disc Disease, Congenital Central Stenosis at L4-5 and L5-S1
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 2, 2017
- Citation
- 1730920
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 1730920.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's PTSD resulted in occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity, warranting a 70% disability rating. The Veteran also met the criteria for a TDIU due to his service-connected disabilities preventing him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a duty to assist error and requires an additional VA examination for the Veteran's back disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has found new and relevant evidence in support of the Veteran's previously denied service-connection claim for a back condition to include degenerative joint disease and degenerative disc disease. The case is being remanded for further review.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a need for a VA examination to determine the nature and likely etiology of the Veteran's back disability, including whether it is related to service.
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