The Veteran's left shoulder disability is not service-connected as it did not begin during service or is otherwise related to an in-service injury.,Diabetes mellitus was not shown as chronic in service and did not manifest to a compensable degree within the applicable presumptive period; continuity of symptomatology is not established; and the disability is not otherwise etiologically related to an in-service injury or disease.,The Veteran's left knee disability, secondary to his service-connected right knee disability, was not addressed by the January 2013 VA examination. The issue remains remanded for further evaluation.,Bronchitis was diagnosed in January 2018 and is currently under review due to lack of a medical opinion regarding its etiology.,The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disability (depression) has not been addressed by the Board as there has been no attempt to verify the in-service stressors.
The deciding factor: Further evaluation is needed for several issues, including left knee disability and bronchitis, due to lack of medical opinions regarding their etiology.
- Claimed conditions
- left shoulder disability, diabetes mellitus, left knee disability (secondary to right knee), bronchitis, acquired psychiatric disability (depression)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 31, 2019
- Citation
- 19107431
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,272 · Granted: 31% (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 19107431.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
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- Remanded (sent back)
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- Denied
The Board denied service connection for diabetes mellitus, prostate cancer, ischemic heart disease, right lower extremity peripheral artery disease, left lower extremity peripheral artery disease, and hypertension as the evidence did not establish an in-service event or exposure to herbicide agents.
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