Wrist & hand decisions — 2018

The Board has granted service connection for a right wrist disorder and assigned a disability rating of 20 percent. Service connection was denied for left foot, upper-gastrointestinal (GI) disorders, peripheral neuropathy of the upper extremities, and PTSD.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient efforts in obtaining private medical records and updating VA treatment records. The Veteran's claim for service connection for residuals of right hand injury, including carpal tunnel syndrome and arthritis, is now pending again with instructions on how to proceed.

The Board has determined that a remand is necessary to obtain medical opinions regarding the etiology of the Veteran's right wrist condition and acquired psychiatric disorder. The claims are being returned for further development.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the etiology of his claimed conditions. The Veteran needs VA examinations to determine if his current bunions, ganglion cyst, right shoulder condition, low back condition, pes planus, and sleep apnea are related to his military service.

The Board denied service connection for left wrist, right wrist, left elbow, right elbow, left shoulder, and right shoulder tendonitis and chronic muscle pain as the evidence did not support a current diagnosis of these conditions.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to insufficient evidence regarding his skin disability claims. The Board will request additional VA examination and review of records to determine if the Veteran has current diagnoses of seborrheic keratosis and actinic keratosis, their etiology, and whether they are related to service.

The Board has granted a disability rating of 10 percent for the healed fracture of the right thumb, but has remanded cases regarding the left wrist and right thumb disabilities due to insufficient evidence.

The Board has reopened the claims for service connection for chronic fatigue syndrome, memory loss, bilateral wrist disabilities, neck disability, left knee disability, bilateral ankle disabilities, and bilateral elbow disabilities due to new evidence showing Gulf War Syndrome. However, these conditions are not found to be related to military service.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for obesity is denied as a matter of law.,His claim for an increased evaluation for left inguinal hernia remains remanded due to the need for additional evidence.

The Veteran's representative argues for a continued 10 percent rating under 38 C.F.R. § 3.324, but the Board finds no entitlement as of June 18, 2002 due to the grant of a compensable disability rating for the service-connected right wrist disability.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for right hand acquired trigger finger and bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome, finding that there was no evidence to support a relationship between these conditions and his military service.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for additional development due to incomplete compliance with previous instructions.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings are being remanded due to the need for additional examinations and consideration of new evidence.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for a right leg disability was denied due to lack of current diagnosis.,Service connection for left hip and right hip disabilities were also denied as there is no evidence of onset during service or relationship to service.,Asthma was not found to be present at any time during the appeal period, thus denial of service connection.,Left wrist and right wrist disabilities were not found to have been incurred in service.

The Board has remanded the cases for further development and examination to address the etiology of the Veteran's left hand conditions, right upper extremity peripheral neuropathy, and right elbow condition.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for a right wrist injury is granted. The claims for status post fifth toe fracture and status first metatarsal osteotomy, left are remanded.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for left wrist disability, passive aggressive personality disorder, and hepatitis C have been reopened. The claim for bilateral knee disability is remanded.

The Board has remanded the issues of service connection for a stomach disability, traumatic brain injury (TBI), headaches, nerve damage to the right wrist, and chronic anxiety reaction with psychological gastrointestinal complaints due to insufficient examination reports addressing whether these conditions are related to service.

The Board has remanded the case for issuance of a Statement of the Case addressing the claim of entitlement to an evaluation in excess of 10 percent for right wrist strain, old trauma.

The Board has determined that the Veteran should be afforded VA examinations to determine whether he has preexisting hearing loss and tinnitus that were aggravated during service, or if they are related to his MOS (sirens, road noises, and weapons noises). For carpal tunnel syndrome, the Board finds that a VA examination is needed to determine its onset in service.