The Board granted an earlier effective date of December 10, 2016, for the grant of service connection for right shoulder, left shoulder, and major depressive disorder disabilities.
The deciding factor: The relevant official service department records existed at the time of the February 2017 rating decision but were not associated with the claims file. These records showed that the Veteran had been diagnosed with shoulder and psychiatric disabilities when he filed his claim while still in service, allowing for reconsideration of the claim.
- Claimed conditions
- Right shoulder disability, Left shoulder disability, Major depressive disorder (MDD)
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 9, 2025
- Citation
- A25087547
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,990 · Granted: 35% (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 A25087547.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's TDIU claim for bilateral knee disabilities and his right and left knee scars have been granted. He is now rated at a combined 60% disability rating from June 1, 2018 based on bilateral factors for his bilateral knee disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied service connection for a right shoulder disability and remanded the case for further action on heart disability. The decision regarding right shoulder disability is that it was not incurred in or aggravated by service.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's service-connected Major Depressive Disorder contributed to his death from a Cerebral Vascular Accident (CVA). The claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death is therefore granted.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's claims for service connection have been dismissed due to their death.
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