The Board denied the veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for service connection for right shoulder rotator cuff tear, right elbow lateral epicondylitis, lumbosacral strain with degenerative arthritis of the spine, and right hip strain with trochanteric pain syndrome.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not establish entitlement to an effective date earlier than July 27, 2016, for these disabilities due to lack of formal or informal claims prior to that date.
- Claimed conditions
- right shoulder rotator cuff tear, right elbow lateral epicondylitis, lumbosacral strain with degenerative arthritis of the spine, right hip strain with trochanteric pain syndrome
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 30, 2025
- Citation
- A25056523
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 998 · Granted: 40% (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 A25056523.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has dismissed the issues of higher initial ratings for service-connected bilateral knee disability, migraine variants, and bilateral hearing loss as well as service connection for generalized anxiety disorder. The issues of service connection for right elbow lateral epicondylitis and left elbow lateral epicondylitis are remanded due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology. Service connection for depression is also remanded due to conflicting diagnoses.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for lumbosacral strain with degenerative arthritis of the spine was granted effective December 30, 2019.,PTSD benefits were not granted earlier than December 3, 2019.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for right knee strain, left shoulder rotator cuff tear, and right shoulder rotator cuff tear due to inadequate medical opinions in the November 2020 rating decision. The VA is required to obtain an addendum opinion from a clinician to determine if these conditions are related to service.
- Dismissed
The appeals seeking service connection for right elbow lateral epicondylitis and degenerative arthritis, tinnitus, and left lower extremity sprain are dismissed.
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