The Board denied service connection for degenerative arthritis of the bilateral shoulders and peripheral neuropathy of the left and right upper extremities (claimed as bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome) due to lack of evidence linking these conditions to service or service-connected disabilities.,The Veteran's claims were based on his contention that his shoulder pain and CTS are secondary to his service-connected foot, knee, and back conditions and/or the use of assistive devices for such.
The deciding factor: There is no medical evidence showing a direct relationship between the Veteran’s claimed conditions and his active service or any service-connected disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative arthritis of the bilateral shoulders, Peripheral neuropathy of the left upper extremity (LUE), Peripheral neuropathy of the right upper extremity (RUE)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- December 22, 2020
- Citation
- 20080345
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,828 · Granted: 32% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 20080345.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's peripheral neuropathy of the right upper extremity is granted as service connected. The left knee disability and psychiatric disorder are remanded for further development.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for further development to verify the Veteran's alleged exposure to herbicide agents during service and associate a TERA Memorandum with the record.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's RUE and LUE neuropathy are granted with ratings of 40 percent and 30 percent, respectively.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for further development, including obtaining additional medical evidence and readjudicating the claims.
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