The Veteran's left shoulder disability is rated as noncompensable, and the Board finds no basis to grant a compensable rating.,The Veteran's lower back disability is currently rated at 20 percent. The Board finds no basis to grant an evaluation in excess of 20 percent.
The deciding factor: The evidence does not support a higher rating for either condition based on the current medical findings and diagnostic criteria.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative Arthritis of the Lumbar Spine, Left Shoulder Strain
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 7, 2019
- Citation
- 19135390
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,071 · Granted: 26% (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 19135390.
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
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's right shoulder disability, low back condition, bilateral knee disabilities, and left shoulder strain have been granted service connection. The Veteran's low back condition has been increased to a 40 percent evaluation, while the bilateral knee conditions remain at their current 10 percent evaluations.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a left shoulder strain and assigned a 20% rating effective March 16, 2023. The appellant is eligible to the direct payment of attorney fees based on past-due benefits awarded in the November 2023 rating decision.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his right and left shoulder strains, finding that the current ratings of 20% are appropriate based on limited motion in both shoulders.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for right knee degenerative arthritis and degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine, finding no clear and unmistakable error in the July 2019 rating decision.
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