The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for a right shoulder condition, which is claimed as secondary to his service-connected left shoulder condition. The decision also grants new and material evidence having been received since the previous denial.
The deciding factor: The medical opinions are in relative equipoise regarding whether the Veteran’s right shoulder condition is related to his service-connected left shoulder condition, thus granting the claim based on the benefit of doubt rule.
- Claimed conditions
- Right Shoulder Arthritis, Rotator cuff tear
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 6, 2020
- Citation
- 20064700
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.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for irritable bowel syndrome and posttraumatic stress disorder, but granted an effective date of February 4, 2024, for a 70 percent evaluation for PTSD.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, right and left hip arthritis, right and left hand arthritis, right and left shoulder arthritis, cervical spine arthritis, and lumbar spine arthritis. The claims for right knee, left knee, right ankle, left ankle, right foot, and left foot arthritis were remanded.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected right shoulder disability is rated at 20 percent, but the evidence does not support a higher rating due to lack of functional limitation.,The Veteran’s right wrist scar is rated at 0 percent as it does not meet the criteria for a compensable evaluation under Diagnostic Code 7805.,The Veteran's left knee surgical scars are also rated at 0 percent, with no evidence of disabling effects or loss of function.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for right lower extremity sciatica associated with the Veteran's service-connected lumbosacral spine strain, but remanded claims for service connection for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and sleep apnea.
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