The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's low back disability, finding that his current spinal stenosis is related to in-service injuries. However, it denied service connection for his bilateral shoulder disability due to a lack of evidence linking his current osteoarthritis to his time in service.,While the Veteran reported experiencing shoulder pain during service while playing basketball, the Board found insufficient evidence to establish that his current bilateral shoulder condition is related to his military service.
The deciding factor: The Board concluded that there was no chronicity of symptoms or medical evidence linking the Veteran's in-service back injuries to his current spinal stenosis. The examiner noted a lack of treatment records during and immediately after service, which the Board considered inadequate for adjudication purposes.,For the shoulder condition, the Board found insufficient evidence to establish that the Veteran's osteoarthritis began during or within one year following his military service. The absence of any indication of relevant complaints until decades after service was noted as a factor.
- Claimed conditions
- Low back disability, Bilateral shoulder disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 18, 2019
- Citation
- 19147398
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,669 · Granted: 23% (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 19147398.
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 Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a low back disability and an increased rating for his acquired psychiatric disorder. The Board found that there was no evidence linking the current disabilities to military service.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected low back disability alone does not prevent him from securing and following a substantially gainful occupation.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a low back disability and bilateral hip disability, finding that there was no evidence linking these conditions to his military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased disability evaluation and effective dates are being remanded due to the need for a new VA examination to address the severity of his low back disability, including whether he has experienced incapacitating episodes of IVDS.
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