Wrist & hand decisions — 2010

The Board found no service connection for the claimed conditions, including bilateral shoulder/hand/wrist disorders and a neurological disorder manifested by numbness in arms and legs. The Veteran's claims were denied as there was no objective evidence of such disabilities during or within one year after service.

The Veteran's appeal has been dismissed as he withdrew his appeal in writing prior to the Board's decision.

The Board has granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death and dismissed the claim for DIC under the provisions of 38 U.S.C.A. § 1318.

The Veteran's left wrist disability and associated peripheral neuropathy have been granted, with a 10% rating effective from August 31, 2007.

The Board has remanded the issues of service connection for residuals of hand and wrist burn injuries and hypertension due to insufficient evidence or procedural errors.

The Veteran's claim for service connection due to Agent Orange exposure is denied. The claims for service connection for lower right abdominal pain, numbness and tingling of the feet, hands, arms and back, small colon colectomy, pericardectomy, and carpal tunnel syndrome release are all denied.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for a new VA examination and consideration of whether an extraschedular evaluation is warranted.

The Board has determined that the appellant's carpal tunnel syndrome of both wrists warrants a 30 percent rating for the left wrist and a 20 percent rating for the right wrist, as they are currently evaluated.

The Veteran's PTSD is service-connected. The Board finds credible evidence of in-service stressors and grants service connection for PTSD. Service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder other than PTSD, low back disorder, left wrist strain, arthritis of the bilateral knees are not granted as there is no current diagnosis or medical evidence linking these conditions to service.

The Board denied the application to reopen the claim of entitlement to service connection for right wrist osteoarthritis, finding that new and material evidence had not been received since the last denial. The Veteran's previous claim was denied because there was no evidence of a right wrist disability in service or for many years thereafter, and because he did not indicate at the time of his fall that it was due to his service-connected right knee.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected right wrist and thumb disabilities are being remanded to allow for additional examination and development of the record.

The Veteran's cyst on the right wrist and low back disorder are found to be incurred in service, while his cysts on the feet were not. The appeal for cysts on the feet is dismissed.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including Multiple Sclerosis and Anxiety Disorder, are severe enough to prevent him from securing or following substantially gainful employment. The decision grants a TDIU effective July 3, 2008.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining service treatment records and conducting examinations to determine the nature and etiology of various conditions.

The Board found no evidence of current right hand or wrist arthritis, and the Veteran's bilateral shoulder arthritis is not shown to be related to service. Therefore, service connection for these conditions was denied.

The Board finds that the Veteran has a current diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis and other joint conditions, which are related to his active military service. The claim for special monthly compensation based on secondary loss of use of a creative organ is denied as there is no evidence showing such loss.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining medical records and scheduling a VA examination. The Veteran's claims for service connection are pending.

The Veteran's claims for initial higher ratings for peripheral neuropathy of the lower extremities are denied. The Board found that the evidence did not meet the criteria for a rating higher than 10 percent before November 17, 2008, and an initial rating higher than 20 percent from November 17, 2008.

The Veteran's claim for a higher initial rating for degenerative joint disease of the left wrist was denied as his disability did not meet the criteria for a rating greater than 10 percent.

The Board found that the Veteran's current bilateral knee disorder is not related to his service, and thus denied his claim for service connection.