The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for right and left lower extremity shin splints, finding that there is no evidence of a chronic condition during or since military service. The appeal was remanded to address an issue related to the Veteran's left shoulder labral tear.
The deciding factor: The preponderance of the evidence does not support a finding of a current disability related to military service for either shin splints, and there is no credible history of chronic shin splints since basic training in October 1997.
- Claimed conditions
- Right lower extremity shin splints, Left lower extremity shin splints
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 23, 2020
- Citation
- A20015930
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,776 · Granted: 24% (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 A20015930.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Partly granted
The Board denied an initial rating greater than 70 percent for persistent depressive disorder and generalized anxiety, granted a 20 percent rating for cervical strain, lumbosacral strain, right lower extremity shin splints, and left lower extremity shin splints, but denied an initial rating greater than 10 percent for bilateral plantar fasciitis.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for cortical cataracts and pinguecula, while denying service connection for pseudofolliculitis barbae, left ear pain, right lower extremity shin splints, and left lower extremity shin splints.
- Denied
The Board denied the appellant's claims for initial disability ratings in excess of 10 percent for right and left lower extremity shin splints, finding that his conditions did not meet the criteria for higher ratings based on the current evidence.
- Granted
The Veteran's bilateral keratoconjunctivitis sicca is granted a 20 percent disability rating, but no higher. The Veteran's right and left lower extremity shin splints are each granted a 10 percent disability rating.
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