The Board granted service connection for lumbar spine degenerative changes as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral lower extremities, but denied service connection for a right shoulder disorder.
The deciding factor: Service connection was granted based on a nexus between the Veteran's obesity and his service-connected peripheral neuropathy, which in turn led to lumbar spine degenerative changes. The Board found no evidence linking the right shoulder disorder to service or any service-connected condition.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar spine degenerative changes, right shoulder disorder (status post right shoulder arthropathy)
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- May 2, 2025
- Citation
- A25040660
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,676 · Granted: 24% (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 A25040660.
What this means for you
A partial grant means some issues were granted while others were denied or remanded — common in multi-issue claims. Look at which issues went which way, and how each was argued.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for cervical spine degenerative changes, left shoulder degenerative changes, lumbar spine degenerative changes, and right shoulder osteoarthritis due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error. The Veteran was not afforded VA examinations for these conditions.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's appeal for an increased rating higher than 40 percent for a back disability, as the evidence did not support a finding that his symptomatology more nearly approximated unfavorable ankylosis of the entire thoracolumbar spine or incapacitating episodes requiring physician-prescribed bed rest.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for TDIU is remanded due to the need for additional development of his medical records, particularly those from Community Care providers and non-VA providers received by the VA but not associated with the claims file.
- Granted
The Board has granted earlier effective dates of February 22, 2017 for both the TDIU and DEA benefits based on the Veteran's service-connected disabilities.
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