The Veteran's service connection claims for left and right shoulder disabilities, thoracolumbar spine disability, and cervical spine disability have been denied as there is no evidence of a disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found that the Veteran’s current DDD/DJD was more likely due to the aging process rather than any incident during service.
- Claimed conditions
- left shoulder DJD, right shoulder DJD, thoracolumbar spine DDD and DJD (low back condition), cervical spine DJD (DJD neck)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 22, 2019
- Citation
- 19113002
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,456 · Granted: 23% (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 19113002.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for bilateral knee degenerative joint disease and right shoulder DJD, but denied service connection for a compensable rating for scar, right bunionectomy, bilateral hearing loss (BHL), and right radiculopathy.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for multiple degenerative joint diseases of the right and left wrist, knee, shoulder, elbow, and hip, including as secondary to a lumbar spine disability.
- Granted
The Veteran's right fifth distal interphalangeal joint (DIP) fusion with severe joint space narrowing of the right hand is granted as service connected. The Board finds all three elements of service connection are satisfied, including the in-service injury and continuity of symptomatology.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has ordered additional evidentiary development for the Veteran's increased rating claims and TDIU claim due to his failure to report for scheduled VA examinations. The claims are being remanded until such evidence is obtained.
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