The Board has granted the Veteran's claims for service connection for his right shoulder disability, finding that it was proximately caused by his service-connected left knee disability. The other two disabilities (right knee and lower back) were denied as not being related to the service-connected conditions.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found no evidence-based medicine supporting a clinical mechanism of one joint being damaged by overcompensation for another joint injury, leading to the conclusion that the right shoulder disability was not caused or aggravated by the left knee disability.
- Claimed conditions
- Right Knee Arthritis, Lower Back Disability, Right Shoulder Rotator Cuff Tear with Acromioclavicular Joint Arthropathy and Impingement Syndrome
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 25, 2019
- Citation
- 19122262
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,329 · 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 19122262.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for a higher rating prior to August 12, 2013 was denied as his right knee disability did not meet the criteria for a higher rating under Diagnostic Code 5003.,The Veteran's claim for a higher rating from April 1, 2016 was denied as he is already receiving the maximum allowable disability rating of 60 percent for total right knee replacement.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for increased ratings and service connection were denied. The rating for PTSD was not granted, and the claims for left foot neuropathy, right foot neuropathy, left knee arthroplasty and rheumatoid arthritis, and right knee arthritis were also denied.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection have been denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support a higher rating for PVD, denied service connection for GERD, right knee disability, and lower back disability, and dismissed the claim of service connection for tinnitus due to lack of appealable final decision.
- Granted
The Veteran's right knee disability is found to have resulted from his active service, and the Board has granted service connection for this condition.
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