Wrist & hand decisions — 2006

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including a VA orthopedic examination to determine if the veteran's complaints of hand pain and swelling are related to his service in the Persian Gulf War. The claim will be re-adjudicated after this development.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including a radiologic examination of the veteran's service-connected degenerative arthritis of the bilateral hands and wrists.

The Board found that the evidence added to the record since the last decision is either cumulative or redundant of the evidence of record and does not raise a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim. The veteran's subjective complaints of left upper extremity pain, weakness, and tingling are essentially cumulative of his prior contentions and do not raise a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including a VA examination to address the etiology of the veteran's left wrist, low back, and right knee disabilities.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased evaluations of his low back disability and left wrist fracture, as well as service connection for a right wrist condition. The veteran was not granted any new or material evidence to reopen his claim for a right wrist condition.

The veteran's bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) have been granted initial compensable evaluations of 10 percent each.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for various hand, wrist, shoulder, cervical spine, low back, and knee disabilities due to a lack of evidence linking these conditions to his military service.

The Board has determined that the veteran does not meet the criteria for service connection or higher ratings for any of his claimed conditions. The appeals are denied.

The Board has determined that the veteran's left hand/wrist disorder and bilateral hearing loss were not incurred in or aggravated by service. The claim for a left hand/wrist disorder is denied, while the claim for bilateral hearing loss is referred to the RO for further adjudication.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for a history of right tympanic membrane puncture, nerve damage to the neck secondary to head trauma, and cervical carpal tunnel syndrome due to lack of medical evidence linking these conditions to his military service.

The VA determined that the veteran's right wrist condition did not meet the criteria for SMC based on loss of use of the upper extremity, as he retained more use than would be possible with an amputation.

The Board found no current disability of the right wrist and hand, thus denying service connection.

The Board finds that the preponderance of the evidence is against the veteran's claims for service connection for left wrist, left arm (to include tennis elbow), back, sub-deltoid bursitis of the left shoulder, and right ankle disabilities. The veteran does not have a current disability as claimed.

The veteran's claims for increased ratings and an earlier effective date were denied. The Board found no evidence of any service connection or increase in disability related to the claimed conditions.

The veteran's claim for an earlier effective date of award for nonservice-connected pension benefits is denied as there was no prior submission of a formal or informal claim before August 16, 2000.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected conditions, including a left transverse process fracture of L3-4, De Quervain's tenosynovitis of the right wrist, and status post anterior cruciate repair of the right knee.

The veteran's claims for increased ratings and a total rating based on individual unemployability were denied. The initial rating of 10 percent for the right wrist disability was maintained, and a temporary total rating beyond February 28, 2004 due to surgical treatment was also denied.

The Board denied the claims for evaluations of laceration of the right radial sensory nerve and degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, as well as service connection for bilateral hip pain, spasms in the lower extremities and gluteus, a right shoulder disorder, and a left wrist disorder. The appeals were based on direct evidence rather than presumptions or new evidence.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for an effective date prior to March 21, 1996 for dysthymic disorder and denied his increased evaluation claims. The issues of entitlement to a compensable evaluation prior to September 3, 1998 for varicose veins of the right leg, post-operative ligation and stripping, and entitlement to an evaluation in excess of 10 percent from September 3, 1998 for varicose veins of the right leg, post-operative ligation and stripping were withdrawn by the veteran.

The Board has determined that the veteran's left wrist disorder is not related to his military service and thus denied his claim for service connection.