The Board has granted service connection for DJD of the right shoulder, DJD of the left shoulder, and arthritis of the thoracic and lumbar spine. The conditions are related to service.
The deciding factor: The medical opinions provided by private doctors supported a nexus between the Veteran's current conditions and his military service, including specific incidents during service that he claimed caused or aggravated his conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative Joint Disease (DJD) of the right shoulder, Degenerative Joint Disease (DJD) of the left shoulder, Arthritis of the thoracic and lumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 31, 2019
- Citation
- A19002436
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,199 · Granted: 25% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 A19002436.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not preclude him from securing and following substantially gainful employment.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for TDIU prior to October 10, 2018, finding that his service-connected disabilities did not prevent him from securing or following substantially gainful employment.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for additional VA medical opinions to determine if the Veteran's current disabilities of the hips, shoulders, knees, and cervical spine are related to his active service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that more development is needed to determine the nature and etiology of the Veteran's right shoulder disability, including whether it was incurred in service or aggravated by a pre-existing condition.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.