The Veteran's claims for service connection for a right shoulder disability, residuals of an injury to the right fourth (ring) finger, peripheral nerve condition in the right lower extremity, hiatal hernia, epicondylitis of the right elbow, and epicondylitis of the left elbow have all been denied.,The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for epicondylitis of the right elbow and epicondylitis of the left elbow remain pending.
The deciding factor: There is no evidence in the record to support a current diagnosis or service connection for any of the conditions claimed, including a right shoulder disability, residuals of an injury to the right fourth (ring) finger, peripheral nerve condition in the right lower extremity, hiatal hernia, epicondylitis of the right elbow, and epicondylitis of the left elbow.
- Claimed conditions
- Right Shoulder Disability, Residuals of an Injury to the Right Fourth (Ring) Finger, Peripheral Nerve Condition, Right Lower Extremity, Hiatal Hernia, Epicondylitis of the Right Elbow, Epicondylitis of the Left Elbow
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 15, 2020
- Citation
- 20003258
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 940 · 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 20003258.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The claims for service connection for right and left shoulder disabilities are remanded. The claim for sleep disorder (claimed as sleep apnea) remains denied.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for right and left shoulder disabilities, finding insufficient evidence to establish an in-service event or injury related to his shoulders. The Veteran's current shoulder conditions are not linked to his military service.
- 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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to the need for a VA examination to determine if the Veteran's right shoulder disability is related to his service-connected TMJ.
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