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Whole decision: Denied

The Veteran's service connection claim for a left shoulder disorder is denied as the condition is not related to his military service or any service-connected disabilities.,Service connection for sinusitis prior to March 22, 2012 and in excess of 10 percent thereafter is also denied.

The deciding factor: The Veteran's left shoulder disorder was found to be unrelated to his military service or any service-connected conditions. The examiner concluded that the current degenerative joint disease (DJD) of the left shoulder did not occur during service and is more likely due to aging.,The Veteran's sinusitis has been diagnosed but does not meet the criteria for a compensable rating as it has not resulted in incapacitating episodes.

Claimed conditions
Left Shoulder Disorder, Partial Rotator Tear
How they argued it
Direct service connection
Exposure basis
None
Rating
Not verified here — check the original decision
Decision date
March 7, 2019
Citation
19117001

Veterans Law Judge

MATTHEW W. BLACKWELDER

Decisions by this judge: 2,329 · Granted: 31% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 19117001.

What this means for you

A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.

What you can do next

Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).

Related decisions

Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.

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