Wrist & hand decisions — 2004

The Board denied the claim for service connection for the cause of the veteran's death due to pneumonia, finding that it was not incurred in or aggravated by service. The appeal for accrued benefits is also denied as there were no pending claims at the time of the veteran's death.

The Board has remanded the veteran's claim for hearing loss disability due to a lack of current VA audiological examination. The other issues remain under consideration.

The veteran's claim for service connection for degenerative arthritis of the left wrist is being remanded due to procedural deficiencies in VCAA notice.

The Board found that the veteran's low back disability, cellulitis of the hands, and bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome were not incurred in service. However, it granted service connection for post-traumatic stress disorder with a 30% rating and assigned a noncompensable rating for shrapnel wound residuals.

The Board has denied the appellant's attempts to reopen his claims of service connection for migraine headache disorder, personality disorder, and arthritis of wrists, knees, and ankles. The evidence submitted does not meet the criteria for reopening these claims.

The Board found no evidence of a current disability related to the veteran's service and denied his claim for service connection.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining medical records and arranging for a VA examination to assess the severity of his service-connected bilateral wrist, right fifth finger, and left little finger fracture residuals.

The veteran's claims for increased evaluations of his periostitis of the right and left shins, residuals of a left wrist injury, and hiatal hernia have been denied as they do not meet the criteria for an evaluation in excess of 10 percent.,The current evaluations assigned for each disability remain at 10 percent.

The VA denied the veteran's claim for an initial disability evaluation in excess of 10 percent for post-operative residuals of deQuervain's disease of the left wrist, finding that her condition did not present an exceptional or unusual disability picture.

The veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded due to inadequate examination reports. The RO is instructed to arrange for the veteran to undergo gynecological and orthopedic examinations.

The veteran's claim for increased evaluations for his right hand disabilities was denied. His combined evaluation is currently at 60 percent, with separate ratings for Muscle Groups VIII and IX.

The Board granted a 20 percent disability rating for the veteran's service-connected residuals of a fractured right wrist, with scars, foreign body under the skin, and abrasions of the upper forearm. The initial disability rating for his service-connected right ulnar neuropathy remains at 10 percent.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for a rating in excess of 30 percent for residuals of a left (dominant) wrist fracture, finding that the evidence did not support such an increase.

The veteran's right carpal tunnel syndrome is granted with a 10% evaluation. Service connection for left carpal tunnel syndrome is granted.

The veteran's service-connected right wrist and forearm disability was granted an effective date of April 2, 1999 for his carpal tunnel syndrome. His other service-connected condition, residuals of a fractured right radius and wrist with deformity of the wrist and forearm and traumatic arthritis, was granted an effective date of September 27, 2000.

The Board has decided to remand the veteran's claims for hypertension and left wrist disability due to insufficient evidence regarding the relationship between his service-connected conditions and his current health issues. The case will be returned to the RO for further development.

The veteran's service connection claims for various conditions have been granted, with the exception of conjunctivitis. The left elbow disability is found to be related to service and rated at 20 percent. Other conditions are also found to be related to service.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has been received to reopen claims for service connection for hemorrhoids, low back disorder (previously characterized as developmental anomaly of the lumbar spine), hypertension, edema of the feet, ankles, hands, abdomen, and face, diabetes mellitus, abnormal laboratory findings, fibromyalgia, lupus, multiple sclerosis, liver disability (to include cirrhosis), respiratory (lung) disability, osteoarthritis of the major and minor joints, eye disability, tremors of the upper extremities, carpal tunnel syndrome, Meniere's syndrome, headaches with dizziness, nausea, and lightheadedness, chronic Candida, low back pain with pain radiating into the hips (previously characterized as developmental anomaly of the lumbar spine), an acquired hamstring disorder, an acquired bilateral hip disorder, a bilateral knee disorder, and a bilateral elbow disorder. However, service connection is not established for any of these conditions.

The Board granted service connection for a low back disorder, but denied the claims for initial ratings of 10 percent for a right wrist ganglion cyst and a non-compensable rating for a right shoulder lipoma.

The Board found that the veteran's right wrist disability, manifested by pain and limited motion but without severe incomplete paralysis of the radial nerve on the major side, does not warrant a rating in excess of 30 percent.