The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for left shoulder strain and degenerative joint disease, finding that the evidence did not support a link between these conditions and his military service.
The deciding factor: The VA medical nexus opinion provided in March 2025 found no relationship between the Veteran's current left shoulder disability and his military service due to the lack of in-service injury or chronicity, and the long gap between service separation and the first documented complaint of left shoulder pain.
- Claimed conditions
- left shoulder strain, degenerative joint disease (DJD) (left shoulder disability)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 15, 2025
- Citation
- 25006597
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.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's service connection for left shoulder strain, labral tear, acromioclavicular joint osteoarthritis, and tendinitis was granted, while the effective date prior to November 11, 2023, for migraine headaches was denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for chronic sinusitis, left shoulder strain, lumbosacral strain, and radiculopathy of the right lower extremity to ensure compliance with its previous remand directives.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for chronic sinusitis, left shoulder strain, lumbosacral strain, and radiculopathy of the right lower extremity to ensure compliance with its previous remand directives.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for an increased rating and TDIU due to a pre-decisional duty-to-assist error regarding SSA records.
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