The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not render him unable to obtain and/or secure substantially gainful employment, as his education and work history suggest he can perform sedentary or light work.
The deciding factor: The Veteran has completed an associate’s degree and had prior jobs requiring different skill sets, indicating that he retains the ability to learn and apply new skills for various types of employment.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral mild degenerative arthritis of the first metatarsophalangeal joint, left shoulder surgery based on limitation of motion, postoperative residuals scar of the left humerus, status post left shoulder surgery, symptomatic flat feet
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 50%
- Decision date
- August 6, 2019
- Citation
- 19160708
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 19160708.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran is granted special monthly compensation at the housebound rate (SMC) from August 3, 2018 due to his service-connected disabilities.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities rendered him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation, and the Board granted a TDIU on an extra-schedular basis as of February 1, 2010.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not render him unable to obtain and secure substantial gainful employment.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining medical records and scheduling a VA examination. The issues are related to increased ratings for his service-connected disabilities.
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