The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for gallbladder removal as secondary to his service-connected degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine and denied a higher disability rating for his right shoulder rotator cuff evulsion. The evidence did not support finding that the gallbladder condition was related to service or caused by his service-connected lumbar spine disability, nor did it establish direct service connection.
The deciding factor: The preponderance of the evidence indicated that the Veteran's gallbladder removal and right shoulder rotator cuff evulsion were not related to service or service-connected conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- Gallbladder removal, Right shoulder rotator cuff evulsion
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- August 5, 2020
- Citation
- 20051915
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 20051915.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an initial evaluation of 70 percent for PTSD with adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depression, but denied higher ratings for the residuals of a stab wound to the stomach and service connection for gallbladder removal and overactive bladder as secondary to the stab wound. The degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine was remanded.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for a 30 percent disability rating for gallbladder removal is denied as there was no formal or informal application between the June 1995 final decision and December 9, 2016.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded this case due to issues with the previous decision regarding service connection for a psychiatric disability, including PTSD, which was secondary to service-connected gastrointestinal disabilities. The Veteran is advised to provide evidence of military sexual trauma (MST) and in-service psychiatric injury, disease, or symptoms.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for a liver condition has been reopened, and he is now entitled to a rating of 10 percent for his gallbladder removal. His pseudofolliculitis barbae is rated as noncompensable.
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