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Board of Veterans' Appeals · AMA series

Entitlement to a disability rating of 30 percent, but no higher, for a left shoulder strain status post Bankart and rotator cuff surgery with osteoarthritis, rotator cuff/biceps tendinopathy and glenohumeral joint…

July 30, 2026Citation Nr. A26069976Docket 260210-641330va.gov source

  • Disability rating for left shoulder disability (left shoulder strain status post Bankart and rotator cuff surgery with osteoarthritis, rotator cuff/biceps tendinopathy and glenohumeral joint osteoarthritis/instability)Granted
  • Disability rating in excess of 10 percent for a painful left shoulder scar (surgical scar)Denied

Board reasoning

The Board granted a 30% rating for the left shoulder disability under DC 5202 based on recurrent dislocation with frequent episodes and guarding of movement, and denied a higher or separate rating for other related conditions. It also denied a rating in excess of 10% for the surgical scar, finding the scar painful but not unstable and not covering enough area to warrant a higher or separate rating. The Board discussed functional loss considerations and found the medical evidence supported the 30% rating and the 10% scar rating within the applicable diagnostic codes, noting no other applicable codes provided a higher or separate rating.

Issues

  • Disability rating for left shoulder disability (left shoulder strain status post Bankart and rotator cuff surgery with osteoarthritis, rotator cuff/biceps tendinopathy and glenohumeral joint osteoarthritis/instability)Granted
  • Disability rating in excess of 10 percent for a painful left shoulder scar (surgical scar)Denied

Authorities

  • Lynch v. McDonough, 21 F.4th 776Cited regarding the propriety of a single rating under related codes and avoiding double compensation.
  • Fenderson v. West, 12 Vet. App. 119Principle for staged ratings and consideration of time periods.
  • Correia v. McDonald, 28 Vet. App. 158Requirement to document ROM testing for pain on both active and passive motion and weight-bearing.
  • Sharp v. Shulkin, 29 Vet. App. 26Need for flare-up functional impairment information from the veteran.
  • Jones v. Shinseki, 26 Vet. App. 56Medication effects on rating when not contemplated by criteria.
  • Ingram v. Collins, 38 Vet. App. 130Ameliorative effects of medication must be addressed if not contemplated by criteria.

Extracted with gpt-5-nano-2025-08-07. Citations are kept only when they appear in the decision text.