The Board has determined that the Veteran's right shoulder degenerative changes is a current disability and was incurred in service, resolving all reasonable doubt in his favor. The decision grants service connection for this condition.
The deciding factor: The evidence supports the Veteran’s assertions of having a chronic right shoulder disability since service, including post-service treatment records and lay statements from family members who observed symptoms prior to filing the claim.
- Claimed conditions
- right shoulder degenerative changes, right shoulder impingement syndrome, rotator cuff tendonitis, glenohumeral joint osteoarthritis, acromioclavicular (AC) joint separation, osteoarthrosis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 14, 2018
- Citation
- 18158058
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 18158058.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded due to a duty to assist error. The VA will obtain new opinions from different VA examiners to address whether the Veteran's conditions were incurred or aggravated by his military service, including exposure during combat.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for hypothyroidism, Reiter's disease, dyslipidemia, GERD, diabetes mellitus type II, and osteoarthrosis as there was no current diagnosis of these conditions during or contemporaneous to the appeal period.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has found that the current medical opinion is inadequate and the record is incomplete without other opinions. The Veteran's left shoulder disorder may be related to service, but a VA examination is needed to determine if it was caused by or aggravated by his service-connected right shoulder disorder.
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