The Veteran's claims for service connection have been granted.,Further examination and evidence are needed to determine the nature of his elbow and back disabilities.
The deciding factor: The Veteran has provided new and material evidence that supports reopening of his claims, and further examination is required to establish a clear etiology for his conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- Arthritis of the Back, Right Wrist Condition, Left Elbow Arthritis, Right Elbow Lateral Epicondylitis and Degenerative Joint Disease, Thoracolumbar Spine Disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 16, 2020
- Citation
- 20003978
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,480 · Granted: 26% (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 20003978.
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 Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for TDIU was denied as there is no prior unadjudicated claim found in the record. The issue of TDIU was not raised until after a final rating decision on service connection for PTSD and TBI.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for right hip, left hip, right knee, and right wrist conditions due to a failure to obtain adequate medical opinions regarding the etiology of these conditions.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a rating of 70 percent for PTSD and denied ratings in excess of 50 percent for OSA, IBS, and headaches. The Board also granted service connection for right elbow, left wrist, neck, and left leg shin splints conditions.
- Partly granted
The Board granted increased ratings for the Veteran's right and left shoulder rotator cuff disabilities, effective from March 25, 2008 and February 28, 2008 respectively. The thoracolumbar spine disability was also rated at 40 percent, but a temporary total disability rating for convalescence following a January 13, 2016 left shoulder surgery was denied.
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