The Veteran's service connection claim for a low back disability was denied as his current diagnoses are not related to his period of active service.,The Veteran's right shoulder reconstruction surgery rating was also denied, with the RO granting him a 20 percent rating throughout the appeal period.
The deciding factor: Service connection is not warranted for the Veteran’s low back disability as there is no evidence of arthritis during or within one year after service. The examiner opined that any current lumbar spine diagnoses are less likely than not due to his period of active service.,The Veteran's right shoulder reconstruction surgery was rated 20 percent throughout the appeal period, with a denial for a higher rating.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative arthritis of the spine, Lumbosacral strain, Right shoulder reconstruction surgery
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- August 13, 2018
- Citation
- 18125677
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 18125677.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for degenerative arthritis of the spine, right knee degenerative arthritis, left knee degenerative arthritis, right ankle degenerative arthritis, and left ankle degenerative arthritis.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for an initial disability rating in excess of 10 percent for the lumbar spine disability prior to October 11, 2022 and since December 1, 2022. The Veteran's claim is currently rated at 10 percent under Diagnostic Code 5242.
- Granted
The Veteran's low back disability is rated at 50 percent effective February 13, 2021. His left lower extremity sciatic nerve radiculopathy is rated at 80 percent from April 21, 2013 to February 12, 2021. The Veteran's TDIU claim has an earlier effective date of April 21, 2013.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's low back disability, diagnosed as degenerative arthritis and a lumbosacral strain, is at least as likely as not related to his active service. As such, the claim for service connection is granted.
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