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Denied

The Veteran's left shoulder disorder is not service-connected as there is no evidence of a current diagnosis and the preponderance of the evidence does not support a finding that it was incurred in or aggravated by service.,Service connection for bilateral hand pain (claimed as arthritis) is denied because there is no current diagnosis of arthritis or other disability manifested by bilateral hand pain.,The Veteran's low back disorder is not service-connected due to lack of evidence showing the condition manifested during service or within one year thereafter, and the preponderance of the evidence does not support a finding that it was incurred in or aggravated by service.

The deciding factor: There is no objective x-ray evidence of arthritis within one year after separation from service for the left shoulder disorder. The Veteran's current diagnosis of left shoulder impingement secondary to acromioclavicular (AC) joint arthropathy does not support a finding that it was incurred in or aggravated by service.

Claimed conditions
Bilateral Hand Pain (claimed as Arthritis), Left Shoulder Disorder, Low Back Disorder
How they argued it
Direct service connection
Exposure basis
None
Rating assigned
None in this decision
Decision date
May 6, 2019
Citation
19134908

Veterans Law Judge

A. C. MACKENZIE

Decisions by this judge: 2,548 · 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 19134908.

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