The Board denied service connection for a bilateral shoulder disability, finding that the evidence did not support a link between the Veteran's current disabilities and his military service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found no medical evidence linking the Veteran's current bilateral shoulder disabilities to his in-service injury or to any other event during service.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral shoulder rotator cuff tear, bilateral glenohumeral joint osteoarthritis, bilateral acromioclavicular joint osteoarthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 23, 2019
- Citation
- 19195919
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,037 · Granted: 21% (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 19195919.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate examination and opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's left shoulder condition. The AOJ is instructed to obtain an addendum opinion from a clinician addressing whether it is at least as likely as not that the disability had its onset in service or is otherwise related to service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to a need for an addendum VA opinion regarding the Veteran's bilateral shoulder disability, including rotator cuff tears, shoulder arthrofibrosis, and arthritis. The examiner is asked to consider the physical requirements of the Veteran’s MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) in which he worked, such as hunched over, in confined spaces, while exposed to extremely wet and cold conditions, and with his arms extended.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that a remand is necessary to obtain an addendum opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's diagnosed shoulder conditions, specifically whether they are aggravated by service-connected diabetes mellitus.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for bilateral osteoarthritis of the elbow, bilateral acromioclavicular joint osteoarthritis, bilateral patellar femoral syndrome, degenerative spondylosis, dermatitis, and IBS. The Veteran's current diagnoses are supported by his competent testimony regarding symptoms since service.
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