The Board denied the Veteran's claims for increased initial disability ratings for his service-connected right and left shoulder impingement syndromes, finding that the evidence did not support a rating higher than 20 percent.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's range of motion in both shoulders was found to be within the criteria for a 20 percent rating, with no persuasive evidence of limitation of motion to a degree warranting a higher rating.
- Claimed conditions
- right shoulder impingement syndrome, left shoulder impingement syndrome
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- October 15, 2024
- Citation
- A24065550
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 and service connection for a left shoulder condition, as there was no evidence to support that his current disability was caused by VA treatment or related to his active military service.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of February 7, 2020, for the award of a 70 percent rating for unspecified depressive disorder and TDIU, but denied earlier effective dates for other conditions.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected headaches were granted a rating of 50 percent, and she was also granted TDIU, DEA, and SMC for the period from March 27, 2017, to August 20, 2017.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for right shoulder impingement syndrome, allergic rhinitis, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus. However, it granted service connection for headaches and remanded the claims for an initial rating in excess of 50 percent for adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood and alcohol use disorder.
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