The Board denied the veteran's claim for a rating higher than 20% for his left shoulder disability, stating that the evidence did not support a higher rating.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's left shoulder disability is not manifested by limitation of motion to 25 degrees or less from the side; ankylosis; or impairment of the humerus.
- Claimed conditions
- left shoulder strain, shoulder impingement syndrome, rotator cuff tendonitis, subacromial/subdeltoid bursitis, traumatic arthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 21, 2025
- Citation
- A25005045
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,272 · 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 A25005045.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is remanded for additional development, including obtaining clarification from the August 2017 VA examiner regarding which symptoms are related to his service-connected left trapezius strain and whether any non-service-connected conditions represent a progression of that disability.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's hypertension, left shoulder strain, and right shoulder disability are all granted as service-connected.,The Veteran is also remanded for a rating in excess of 10 percent for degenerative arthritis of the spine and for service connection for sleep apnea.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient medical opinions and a need for additional examination.
- Denied
The Veteran's initial 10% disability rating for left shoulder strain was upheld as there was no clear and unmistakable error in the September 2010 Rating Decision.
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