The Board denied the veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for service connection for left shoulder osteoarthritis and right lower extremity sciatic nerve, as there was no evidence of continuous pursuit of these claims within one year of the initial denials.
The deciding factor: The claims were not continuously pursued following the initial denials in 2016 and 2020, thus the earliest effective date available is June 2, 2021.
- Claimed conditions
- left shoulder osteoarthritis, right lower extremity sciatic nerve
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 21, 2025
- Citation
- A25015818
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 399 · Granted: 41% (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 A25015818.
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.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the appeals for service connection of various conditions due to untimely filing of the appeal.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities rendered him unable to secure and maintain substantially gainful employment prior to January 31, 2023.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for left shoulder osteoarthritis and fibromyalgia due to potential aggravation by her service-connected disabilities. The RO must obtain medical opinions addressing whether the Veteran's conditions were aggravated by her service-connected disabilities.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities require regular aid and attendance from another person, resulting in the grant of special monthly compensation based on aid and attendance. The issue of SMC at the housebound rate is dismissed as it is a lesser benefit than SMC based on aid and attendance.
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