The Board denied service connection for degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine and left shoulder arthritis, finding no evidence that these conditions were incurred in or aggravated by active military service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiners' negative nexus opinions, based on a review of the claims file and the Veteran's history, established that the current diagnoses are not related to an in-service injury, event, or disease, including parachute jumps.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disc disease of lumbar spine, Left shoulder arthritis with rotator cuff
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 29, 2025
- Citation
- A25047929
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,164 · Granted: 31% (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 A25047929.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, osteoarthritis of the right hip, and right renal atrophy with renal insufficiency as secondary to the Veteran's left knee disability. The Board also granted a 10 percent rating for instability of the left knee.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed all appeals related to service connection, increased ratings, and effective dates for various conditions due to procedural defects.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to inadequate medical opinions and missing service treatment records. The Veteran's low back condition is being reviewed again for proper consideration.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for a higher disability rating for his service-connected degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine is denied as his condition does not meet the criteria for a disability rating in excess of 20 percent.
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