The Veteran's appeal for a higher rating for his left shoulder disability and TDIU was denied. The evidence did not support a rating in excess of 20 percent for the left shoulder disability, as flexion and abduction were limited to 90 degrees, which does not warrant an evaluation in excess of 20 percent under Diagnostic Code 5201. For TDIU, since no single service-connected disability is rated at least 40%, the schedular threshold requirement for TDIU was not met.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not show that the Veteran's left shoulder disability warranted a higher rating based on limitation of motion or other criteria under Diagnostic Code 5201. Additionally, no single service-connected disability rated at least 40% allowed for an additional disability to bring the combined rating to 70%, as required by 38 C.F.R. § 4.16(a).
- Claimed conditions
- Left Shoulder AC Joint Arthritis, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder with Depression
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- November 12, 2020
- Citation
- 20072874
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 20072874.
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