The Board granted service connection for a left shoulder disability and a right shoulder disability, finding that the Veteran's bilateral shoulder disabilities are causally linked to his in-service injuries sustained during active duty for training.
The deciding factor: The August 2021 private medical opinion and July 2024 VA medical opinion persuasively establish that the Veteran's bilateral shoulder disabilities are causally linked to his in-service shoulder injuries.
- Claimed conditions
- AC joint osteoarthritis, glenohumeral joint osteoarthritis, chronic and recurrent shoulder dislocations, labral tears
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- December 22, 2025
- Citation
- A25110088
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 734 · 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 A25110088.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
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 found that the current medical opinion is inadequate and the record is incomplete without other opinions. The Veteran's left shoulder disorder may be related to service, but a VA examination is needed to determine if it was caused by or aggravated by his service-connected right shoulder disorder.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to procedural errors and the need for additional evidence. The Veteran's claims of entitlement to an initial compensable evaluation for service-connected bilateral hearing loss, an effective date earlier than December 27, 2023, for the award of service connection for service-connected right shoulder disabilities, and a higher initial evaluation for service-connected right shoulder disabilities are now pending.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to a lack of adequate examination addressing all diagnosed conditions, including right shoulder strain, bicipital tendonitis, and glenohumeral joint osteoarthritis.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for left shoulder osteoarthritis with rotator cuff and labral tears as secondary to his service-connected status-post clavicle fracture. The appeal regarding an earlier effective date for the award of service connection for depression was withdrawn by the Veteran.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.