Secondary service connection
Shoulder impairment secondary to a neck (cervical spine) condition: BVA grant rates and what wins
From 2018 to 2026, the Board of Veterans' Appeals decided shoulder impairment claimed as secondary to a neck (cervical spine) condition in 393 decisions. It granted the issue in 9.9% of them, below the 15.5% grant rate for all shoulder impairment issues, denied it in 20.6%, and remanded it in 69.7%. Counting only decisions on the merits, 32.5% were granted.
Decisions
393
2018–2026
Granted
9.9%
All shoulder impairment: 15.5%
Granted on the merits
32.5%
Granted ÷ (granted + denied)
Remanded
69.7%
Denied: 20.6%
See all shoulder impairment decisions, direct and secondary.
Shoulder impairment secondary to a neck (cervical spine) condition: outcomes by year
| Year | Decisions | Granted | Denied | Remanded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 37 | 10.8% | 29.7% | 59.5% |
| 2019 | 44 | 6.8% | 13.6% | 77.3% |
| 2020 | 47 | 8.5% | 27.7% | 68.1% |
| 2021 | 61 | 4.9% | 19.7% | 75.4% |
| 2022 | 63 | 7.9% | 17.5% | 74.6% |
| 2023 | 54 | 7.4% | 22.2% | 70.4% |
| 2024 | 46 | 17.4% | 19.6% | 63.0% |
| 2025 | 35 | 22.9% | 17.1% | 60.0% |
Evidence in granted and denied shoulder impairment decisions
For each kind of supporting evidence: how often the Board granted the shoulder impairment issue on the merits when the decision mentioned it, compared with decisions that did not. These are associations, not causes, and evidence is recorded per decision, not per issue.
| In the record | Decisions | Granted when present | When absent | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Positive nexus opinion | 60 | 71.0% | 19.1% | +51.9 pts |
| Private medical opinion | 117 | 45.8% | 23.6% | +22.2 pts |
| Lay statement | 335 | 30.3% | 54.5% | −24.3 pts |
- The Board applied the benefit-of-the-doubt rule (38 CFR 3.102) in 76.9% of the decisions that granted shoulder impairment.
- The Board found the veteran's statements credible in 35.9% of grants and 14.8% of denials.
Negative evidence in the record
An unfavorable exam or a negative nexus opinion often sits in the same record as favorable evidence, and the Board weighs them against each other. So these rows show how often shoulder impairment was still granted when the record contained the negative item, not that the item helped.
| In the record | Decisions | Granted when present | When absent | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unfavorable VA exam | 339 | 31.5% | 41.7% | −10.2 pts |
| Negative nexus opinion | 289 | 29.6% | 45.5% | −15.9 pts |
Why the Board granted or denied shoulder impairment
Most common reasons in grants
- Caused by the service-connected disability8
- Service connection established4
- Current diagnosis established4
- Related to service-connected cervical spine disability2
Most common reasons in denials
- No in-service complaints, treatment or diagnosis18
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service14
- Preponderance of the evidence against the claim7
- Current diagnosis established7
- No current diagnosis6
- Service records negative or silent5
- Aggravated by the service-connected disability5
- C&p examiner provided negative nexus opinion regarding service connection1
Numbers are decisions that gave the reason. Reasons are short phrases extracted by AI from each decision; common wordings of the same reason are grouped. Benefit of the doubt is reported above.
Recent shoulder impairment decisions
Granted
Left shoulder pain caused by cervical pain disability; Evidence weighs in favor of service connection; Resolving doubt in Veteran's favor
Secondary to service-connected cervical strain; Supported by private medical opinion; No contrary medical opinions of record
Favorable finding of diagnosis from RO decision; Lay statements regarding pain during military physical training; Private chiropractic opinion linking condition to service; Benefit of the doubt applied due to approximate balance of evidence
Denied
No in-service complaints or diagnoses for right shoulder disability.; No medical opinion linking current disability to service or service-connected cervical spine strain.; Veteran's lay statement regarding onset outweighed by lack of medical evidence.
No current diagnosis of left shoulder disability.; Pain attributed to radiculopathy from service-connected cervical spine.; No evidence of functional impairment.
C&P examiner provided negative nexus opinion regarding service connection; C&P examiner provided negative nexus opinion regarding secondary connection to cervical/lumbar spine conditions; Veteran's lay statements not competent to establish medical causal relationship; Evidence weighs against finding of service connection
Rules that apply to secondary shoulder impairment claims
- 38 CFR 3.310
Secondary service connection and aggravation
Read it in VA Law Explorer - M21-1 V.ii.2.D
Secondary service connection and aggravation of non-service-connected disabilities
Read it in VA Law Explorer - 38 CFR 3.102
Reasonable doubt (benefit of the doubt)
Read it in VA Law Explorer
Research your shoulder impairment case
Narrow by year, judge, evidence or secondary condition, read the decisions, and export a research memo.
How these numbers are calculated
- Counts decisions in which the Board decided a shoulder impairment issue claimed as secondary to a neck (cervical spine) condition, by the outcome of that issue.
- The primary disability is read from the decision text ("secondary to …") and grouped by name, so spellings such as "PTSD" and "posttraumatic stress disorder" count together.
- Secondary claims also include aggravation of a non-service-connected condition by a service-connected one (38 CFR 3.310(b)).
- The data comes from CaseScribe's AI extraction of public BVA decisions (2018–2026) and can contain errors. It is updated automatically as new decisions are added.