The Board granted an effective date of January 17, 2001 for service connection for right and left shoulder disabilities.

The deciding factor: The July 2002 Statement of the Case (SOC) never became final as new and material evidence was received within 60 days and was not considered in any later decisions until the Board decision that granted service connection in April 2015.

Claimed conditions

right shoulder degenerative joint disease (DJD) of the acromioclavicular joint, rotator cuff tear, labral tear, impingement syndrome, and biceps tendon tear, left shoulder impingement syndrome, degenerative joint disease of the acromioclavicular joint, biceps tendinopathy, and rotator cuff tendinopathy

How they argued it

Reopened with new and material evidence

Exposure basis

None

Rating assigned

None in this decision

Decision date

December 15, 2025

Citation

25014883

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