Wrist & hand decisions — 2004

The veteran's claims for service connection for residuals of a right thumb injury, bilateral hearing loss, and low back disability are not established. The claim for service connection for right wrist disability is pending.,Pending issues include the establishment of service connection for bilateral hearing loss and COPD.

The veteran claims service connection for injuries to his right wrist and hand sustained in Germany. The case is being remanded due to the inability to obtain military hospital records from Boblingen, Germany.

The veteran's service-connected low back disability is rated at 40 percent, which is the maximum schedular rating for severe limitation of motion. The Board has granted a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU).

The veteran's service-connected right and left knee disabilities, as well as his left median carpal tunnel syndrome (minor), were rated based on their current manifestations. The RO granted increased ratings for the knees but denied an increase in rating for the carpal tunnel syndrome.

The veteran's service connection claim for the residuals of a March 12, 1983 motor vehicle accident is granted. The court finds that his current disabilities are related to this incident.

The veteran's appeal for higher initial evaluations for his service-connected residuals of a scaphoid fracture of the right wrist and asthma was dismissed as he withdrew the asthma issue from appeal.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of any current right wrist, right knee, and left knee disabilities.

The veteran's appeal is remanded due to inconsistencies in the clinical and EMG findings, need for additional VA outpatient records, and potential extraschedular evaluation.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for right knee, left ankle, bilateral hip, and left wrist disabilities due to a lack of medical evidence establishing a current disability or a relationship between any such disabilities and either service or a service-connected condition.

The Board denied service connection for residuals of shoulder and hand injuries, right shoulder injury, neck condition (including degenerative disc disease), arm conditions (including carpal tunnel syndrome), and migraine headaches. The veteran's symptoms were not found to be related to his military service.

The veteran is seeking service connection for carpal tunnel syndrome of the right hand, which he claims is secondary to his service-connected left ulnar styloid process fracture. He also seeks an increased rating for his left wrist disability.

The VA denied service connection for a cervical spine disorder, lumbosacral spine disorder, right wrist disorder, bilateral ankle disorder, left shoulder disorder, headache disorder, and sinus disorder.,There is no evidence of any current disability related to the veteran's claimed conditions.

The Board has granted the veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome with an effective date of September 14, 1999. The appeal is not about service connection but rather about the effective date.

The veteran's claims for service connection for low back, left ankle, right foot, left hip, and bilateral knee disabilities were denied. The VA examination did not diagnose any of these conditions.

The veteran's claims for service connection and increased evaluations were denied. The Board found no evidence of a chronic skin disorder other than pseudofolliculitis barbae, and the veteran did not have residuals of his fractured left index finger or base of thumb that met the criteria for compensable ratings under VA regulations.

The Board found no evidence of current disabilities related to the conditions treated during service, and thus denied the veteran's claims for service connection.

The veteran's service-connected disabilities do not meet the criteria for a higher level of special monthly compensation at a rate greater than 38 U.S.C.A. � 1114(l), to include loss of use of the arms and legs.

The VA denied an initial compensable rating for residuals of a left wrist shrapnel wound, finding that the veteran's range of motion was almost normal and there were no objective signs of pain or other functional impairment.

The veteran's left wrist condition is rated at 30 percent, and his left knee conditions are each rated at 10 percent. The case is remanded for further development.

The Board has determined that the veteran's service-connected right wrist scar does not warrant a compensable disability rating under either the old or new VA Rating Schedule criteria. The veteran's claim for an increased initial evaluation for his right shoulder impingement syndrome with resection of the distal clavicle remains denied.