SHOULDER IMPAIRMENT OF

S. MERRICK · 2026 · Case ID: A26037675

DENIED

Summary

The veteran, who served from January 1988 to April 1993, appeals the denial of service connection for bilateral shoulder disabilities and a low back disability. The veteran asserts these conditions are due to physical training and lifting heavy equipment during service. The veteran is diagnosed with left and right shoulder strain and low back strain. The Board found no evidence of in-service onset, causation, or aggravation of these conditions. While the veteran claimed general military duties caused his issues, the Board determined this was insufficient to warrant a VA examination, as there was no indication the disabilities might be associated with an in-service event. The Board noted that the veteran's own statements linked his low back condition to a work injury approximately fifteen years prior to a 2020 record, and his shoulder pain to increased workload as a mail carrier in more recent records. The Board concluded that the evidence persuasively weighed against a service connection for these conditions, and therefore, the benefit of the doubt doctrine did not apply. Service connection for the left shoulder, right shoulder, and low back disabilities was denied.

Rationale

No in-service onset or aggravation found; No competent medical opinion linking to service; Evidence persuasively weighs against service connection

Special Benefit

NO SPECIAL BENEFIT

Docket No.

251116-607764

Full Decision Text

Citation Nr: A26037675
Decision Date: 04/22/26 Archive Date: 04/22/26

DOCKET NO. 251116-607764
DATE: April 22, 2026

ORDER

Service connection for a left shoulder disability is denied.

Service connection for a right shoulder disability is denied.

Service connection for a low back disability is denied.

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. The current left shoulder disability was not incurred in or etiologically related to service.

2. The current right shoulder disability was not incurred in or etiologically related to service.

3. The current low back disability was not incurred in or etiologically related to service.

CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

1. The criteria for service connection for a left shoulder disability are not met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303.

2. The criteria for service connection for a right shoulder disability are not met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303.

3. The criteria for entitlement to service connection for low back condition have not been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303.

REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS

The Veteran served on active duty from January 1988 to April 1993.

This matter comes to the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) from a March 2025 rating decision of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ).

In the November 2025 VA Form 10182, Decision Review Request: Board Appeal (Notice of Disagreement), the Veteran elected the Direct Review docket.

Therefore, the Board may only consider the evidence of record at the time of the March 2025 AOJ decision on appeal. 38 C.F.R. § 20.301. Any evidence submitted after the AOJ decision on appeal cannot be considered by the Board. 38 C.F.R. §§ 20.300, 20.301, 20.801.

If the Veteran would like VA to consider any evidence that was submitted that the Board could not consider, the Veteran may file a Supplemental Claim (VA Form 20-0995) and submit or identify this evidence. 38 C.F.R. § 3.2501. If the evidence is new and relevant, VA will issue another decision on the claims, considering the new evidence in addition to the evidence previously considered. Id. Specific instructions for filing a Supplemental Claim are included with this decision.

The Board notes that the March 2025 rating decision found that new and relevant evidence had been received and reopened the claims. Thus, the Board will proceed with adjudication.

Service Connection

Service connection will be granted for a disability resulting from an injury or disease contracted during military service. 38 U.S.C. § 1110; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303. Direct service connection may be granted if the evidence supports (1) a current disability, (2) an in-service incurrence or aggravation of that disability, and (3) a causal nexus between the current disability and the in-service event. Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1167 (Fed. Cir. 2004); see also 38 C.F.R. § 3.304. Service connection may also be granted for a disease diagnosed after discharge, when all the evidence establishes that the disease was incurred in service. 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(d).

After careful consideration of the evidence, any reasonable doubt remaining is to be resolved in favor of the Veteran. 38 U.S.C. § 5107; 38 C.F.R. § 3.102. If the evidence is not in approximate balance or nearly equal, the claim is to be denied. See Lynch v. McDonough, 21 F.4th 776 (Fed. Cir. 2021) (en banc) (only when the evidence persuasively favors one side or another is the benefit of the doubt doctrine not for application).

Service connection for a left shoulder disability is denied.

Service connection for a right shoulder disability is denied.

Service connection for a low back disability is denied.

The Veteran is seeking service connection for a bilateral shoulder disability and low back disability. The Veteran asserts that these disabilities are due to his active duty service. Specifically, he attributes his back and shoulder pain to physical training and lifting heavy equipment
.102. If the evidence is not in approximate balance or nearly equal, the claim is to be denied. See Lynch v. McDonough, 21 F.4th 776 (Fed. Cir. 2021) (en banc) (only when the evidence persuasively favors one side or another is the benefit of the doubt doctrine not for application).

Service connection for a left shoulder disability is denied.

Service connection for a right shoulder disability is denied.

Service connection for a low back disability is denied.

The Veteran is currently diagnosed with left and right shoulder strain, and low back strain.

The Veteran has not submitted evidence indicating that the claimed disabilities had their onset during his active military service, were caused by his active military service, or were caused or aggravated by a service-connected disability. The Veteran has not claimed continuous symptoms related to his shoulders or back beginning in service or persisting since service. The Board has considered whether service connection may be granted for a chronic disease, such as arthritis. However, the Veteran does not have a current diagnosis of arthritis, and has not asserted symptoms began within a year of his discharge and have continued since. In addition, the record contains no competent medical opinion finding that these disabilities are related to his active service or to a service-connected disability.

The Board acknowledges that the Veteran has not been afforded a VA examination in connection with these claims; however, VA must provide an examination only where the record contains competent evidence of a disability (or persistent or recurrent symptoms of a disability) that may be associated with an in-service event, injury, or disease but lacks sufficient information to adjudicate the claim. See 38 U.S.C. § 5103A(d); McLendon v. Nicholson, 20 Vet. App. 79, 81 (2006).

Here, the evidentiary record before the Board simply contains no indication that any of these disabilities may be associated with an in-service event, injury, or disease, and the Veteran's filing of a claim and the association with service that such a filing implies, to include his assertion that his disabilities were cause by general military duties, is not sufficient to meet the low threshold of the McLendon standard. See Waters v. Shinseki, 601 F.3d 1274, 1278-79 (Fed. Cir. 2010) (rejecting appellant's argument that his "conclusory generalized statement that his service illness caused his present medical problems was enough to entitle him to a medical examination under the standard of [38 U.S.C. § 5103A (d)(2)(B).]").

In the case, the record does contain evidence that the Veteran's symptoms may be associated with his occupation as a postal worker. In a September 11, 2020, private treatment record the Veteran noted, regarding his low back condition, that "he was initially injured at work about fifteen years ago." An August 20, 2021, private treatment record noted that the Veteran had an MRI of the left shoulder about ten years ago with a partial tear in the rotator cuff. The Veteran filed a claim for workman's compensation related to his right shoulder and low back pain in January 2022. In a March 02, 2022, private treatment record the Veteran's injuries are noted as consistent with history and/or work-related mechanism of injury. In an August 20, 2021, VA treatment record the Veteran related his shoulder pain to increased workload as a mail carrier. He stated that "during the past few months he has noticed increased difficulty and lifting and caring items with his left arm as it hurts to raise his arm about his shoulder."

Accordingly, the Board finds that the Veteran has a current diagnosis of bilateral shoulder strain and low back strain, but that the evidence of record persuasively weighs against a finding that these disabilities are causally related to or aggravated by his active military service, to include service-connected disabilities. While the Veteran is competent to identify the observable features or symptoms of his conditions, he is not competent to render an opinion regarding a diagnosis of those disabilities or whether such observable symptoms are etiologically related to service. See Jandreau v. Nicholson, 492 F.3d 1372, 1377, 1377 n.4 (Fed. Cir. 2007).

In light of the foregoing, the Board finds that the evidence of record persuasively weighs against a finding that the Veteran's bilateral shoulder strain and low back strain were caused or aggravated by his active military service. Therefore, the benefit of the doubt doctrine does not apply, and the claims must

Analyze in VA Law Explorer