The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral shoulder disability, including arthritis, is not related to his active military service. The claim for OSA remains pending as there are insufficient medical records available at this time.
The deciding factor: There is no evidence of a chronic condition in service or within one year after separation from service, and the most probative evidence does not support a finding that current shoulder conditions are related to active duty service.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative Joint Disease of Left Shoulder, Impingement Syndrome of Right Shoulder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- April 6, 2018
- Citation
- 1820252
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 1820252.
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: Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim of entitlement to service connection for a right shoulder disability, finding that his current diagnoses did not manifest during service and were not otherwise etiologically related to his active service or to his service-connected disabilities.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea has been reopened and granted. His current disability is related to his in-service broken nose and weight gain. The rating assigned for the right shoulder, left shoulder, and right knee disabilities are remanded due to lack of adequate examination addressing flare-ups.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's left shoulder degenerative joint disease did not meet the criteria for a higher rating prior to January 5, 2012. From January 5, 2012, his disability was rated as 10 percent due to limitation of motion.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board found that the Veteran's left shoulder disability was not caused by VA care on October 22, 2005. The evidence did not show any causation or aggravation of his condition as a result of VA treatment.
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