The Board denied service connection for adhesive capsulitis of the left shoulder and degenerative disc disease (DDD) of the cervical spine with left upper extremity radiculopathy, finding that the preponderance of evidence did not support a causal relationship between these conditions and the Veteran's in-service injury or his service-connected brachial plexus neuropathy. The TDIU claim was also denied.
The deciding factor: The Board found no credible medical opinion linking the current adhesive capsulitis and DDD to the in-service rucksack injury, with some evidence suggesting that these conditions may be related to other factors such as carpal tunnel syndrome or post-service employment.
- Claimed conditions
- Adhesive capsulitis of the left shoulder, Degenerative disc disease (DDD) of the cervical spine with left upper extremity radiculopathy
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 31, 2019
- Citation
- A19002437
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,071 · Granted: 26% (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 A19002437.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased evaluations of his adhesive capsulitis of the right and left shoulders, as well as his claim for SMC based on need for aid and attendance, are being remanded due to the need for additional medical records.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issues of entitlement to an initial compensable rating for service-connected hypertension and entitlement to service connection for adhesive capsulitis of the left shoulder due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
- Granted
The VA determined that the veteran's adhesive capsulitis of the left shoulder warrants a 30 percent rating, which is the maximum schedular rating available under Diagnostic Code 5201.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's headaches are at least as likely as not caused by his service-connected traumatic brain injury, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
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