The petition to reopen a claim of entitlement to service connection for right shoulder and left shoulder disabilities is granted.,Entitlement to service connection for neuropathy of the bilateral upper extremities is granted. The petition to reopen a claim of entitlement to service connection for neuropathy of the bilateral lower extremities, to include as secondary to a service-connected disability, is remanded.
The deciding factor: The new and material evidence received since the last final August 2015 rating decision relates to an unestablished fact necessary to substantiate the claims (the onset of disabilities in service or their etiology), raising a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claims.,A VA examination is needed to determine if any neurological disability of the bilateral lower extremities had its clinical onset during active duty, within one year of service separation, or is otherwise etiologically related to his service.
- Claimed conditions
- Right Shoulder Disability, Left Shoulder Disability, Neuropathy of the Bilateral Upper Extremities, Neuropathy of the Bilateral Lower Extremities
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 10, 2024
- Citation
- 24001550
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,037 · Granted: 21% (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 24001550.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The claims for service connection for right and left shoulder disabilities are remanded. The claim for sleep disorder (claimed as sleep apnea) remains denied.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for an effective date before April 1, 2018 for a 20% rating for left shoulder disability was denied. The appeal also resulted in the assignment of a 20% rating from April 1, 2018 to March 31, 2018, and a TDIU granted from April 1, 2018 to September 3, 2025.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for right and left shoulder disabilities, finding insufficient evidence to establish an in-service event or injury related to his shoulders. The Veteran's current shoulder conditions are not linked to his military service.
- Granted
The Veteran's right shoulder disability, low back condition, bilateral knee disabilities, and left shoulder strain have been granted service connection. The Veteran's low back condition has been increased to a 40 percent evaluation, while the bilateral knee conditions remain at their current 10 percent evaluations.
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