The Veteran's claim for service connection for left ankle sprain has been reopened and granted. Service connection is also granted for right shoulder rotator cuff tear with degenerative changes, but the claim for left thoracic lipomatous mass (claimed as soft tissue sarcoma) is denied. The Veteran's left eye chronic photophobia and epiphora are rated at 10 percent.
The deciding factor: The evidence supports a finding that the Veteran has current disabilities related to his service, including right shoulder rotator cuff tear with degenerative changes and left eye chronic photophobia and epiphora. Service connection for these conditions is granted. The claim for left thoracic lipomatous mass (claimed as soft tissue sarcoma) was denied due to lack of a diagnosis and no evidence linking the condition to service or herbicide exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- left ankle sprain, right shoulder rotator cuff tear with degenerative changes, left thoracic lipomatous mass (claimed as soft tissue sarcoma), left eye chronic photophobia and epiphora
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- June 7, 2019
- Citation
- 19144333
Veterans Law Judge
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 19144333.
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.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's current right and left ankle disabilities are related to repetitive parachute jumps during service, granting service connection for these conditions.
- Granted
The Veteran's claims for service connection for left ankle sprain, right ankle sprain, anxiety with situational type phobia, left hip strain, left knee strain, right knee strain, and lumbar strain are granted effective March 3, 2022.,An earlier effective date of March 3, 2022, is assigned for the Veteran's service connection claims.
- Denied
The Veteran's left ankle condition, diagnosed as a left ankle sprain and degenerative arthritis, is currently rated at 10 percent. The Board found that the evidence did not show marked limitation of motion or ankylosis, which would warrant a higher rating. Therefore, the claim for a higher rating was denied.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities did not prevent her from securing and maintaining substantial, gainful employment prior to May 1, 2021. Her earnings exceeded the poverty threshold for each year during this period.
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