The Veteran's appeal for a higher disability rating for his left shoulder osteoarthritis and rotator cuff tendonitis, following total joint replacement surgery, was denied as the highest allowed rating under applicable criteria is 50 percent.
The deciding factor: The Veteran’s left shoulder disability affects his non-dominant arm, which entitles him to a maximum 50 percent disability rating. The law disposes of the matter in favor of the VA's decision.
- Claimed conditions
- left shoulder osteoarthritis, rotator cuff tendonitis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 50%
- Decision date
- December 9, 2020
- Citation
- A20018230
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,077 · Granted: 25% (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 A20018230.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is remanded for additional development, including obtaining clarification from the August 2017 VA examiner regarding which symptoms are related to his service-connected left trapezius strain and whether any non-service-connected conditions represent a progression of that disability.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the appeals for service connection of various conditions due to untimely filing of the appeal.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities rendered him unable to secure and maintain substantially gainful employment prior to January 31, 2023.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for left shoulder osteoarthritis and fibromyalgia due to potential aggravation by her service-connected disabilities. The RO must obtain medical opinions addressing whether the Veteran's conditions were aggravated by her service-connected disabilities.
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