The Board denied service connection for degenerative joint disease of the bilateral shoulders and spinal stenosis, finding that the preponderance of evidence did not support a link to service or secondary to other conditions.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found no evidence linking the current diagnoses to service or any service-connected disabilities, and reasoned that the disorders are more likely due to natural progression of aging rather than military service or related conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative joint disease of the bilateral shoulders, Spinal stenosis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 10, 2019
- Citation
- 19102596
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,170 · Granted: 38% (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 19102596.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's lumbosacral strain with degenerative arthritis, herniated disc, IVDS and spinal stenosis is rated at 40 percent since August 19, 2020. The appeal period did not show unfavorable ankylosis or incapacitating episodes of IVDS.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for service connection for his lumbar spine condition and left lower extremity radiculopathy are being remanded due to incomplete service records and a lack of relevant VA treatment records. The Board will seek additional opinions regarding the etiology of these conditions.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for degenerative arthritis and spinal stenosis of the lumbar spine, finding that symptoms began during service and have persisted since.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for her back and bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy are remanded due to inadequate VA examinations that did not consider the ameliorative effects of medication on her service-connected conditions.
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