The Veteran's claims of service connection for right shoulder disability, sleep apnea, right ankle degenerative joint disease, bilateral degenerative joint disease of the hands, irritable bowel syndrome, and erectile dysfunction (secondary to PTSD) have been reopened. The Board finds that new and material evidence has been received to reopen these claims.
The deciding factor: The newly presented evidence is at least evenly balanced as to whether the Veteran's conditions are related to service or intercurrent causes.
- Claimed conditions
- Right Shoulder Acromioclavicular Joint Osteoarthritis, Sleep Apnea, Right Ankle Degenerative Joint Disease, Bilateral Degenerative Joint Disease of the Hands, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Erectile Dysfunction (Secondary to PTSD)
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 2, 2021
- Citation
- 21072118
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 21072118.
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 granted service connection for PTSD, generalized anxiety disorder, and somatic symptom disorder, as well as presumptive service connection for basal cell carcinoma under the PACT Act. Service connection was denied for chronic fatigue syndrome, irritable bowel syndrome, right restless leg syndrome, left restless leg syndrome, an increased rating for psychiatric disorder, bilateral hearing loss, a left forehead surgical scar, and allergic rhinitis.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an increased initial evaluation of 70 percent for PTSD but denied evaluations in excess of 10% for tension headaches and in excess of 30% for IBS, and denied service connection for chronic fatigue syndrome. The claims for additional service connections were remanded.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for irritable bowel syndrome, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), other specified trauma and stressor related disorder, and pain of cervical & cervicothoracic regions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for various disabilities, including a back disability, right and left lower extremity peripheral nerve disabilities, a right foot disability, sleep apnea, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus, to correct pre-decisional duty to assist errors.
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