Wrist & hand decisions — 2022

The Board has decided to remand the claims of service connection for left wrist, hemorrhoid, tinnitus, and right thumb disabilities due to additional evidence being added to the record after the July 2018 and July 2019 Statements of the Case.

The Board found that the Veteran's right wrist arthritis with long ulna and ulna impaction was not caused by VA carelessness, negligence, or similar fault. Therefore, compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 is denied.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for a VA examination to determine if his left upper extremity neurological symptoms are related to his service-connected left wrist disorder.

The Veteran's right wrist disability has been granted an extraschedular rating of 30 percent, but no higher. The issue of entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) has been withdrawn by the Veteran.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for carpal tunnel syndrome of the left and right upper extremities, as well as his request for a higher rating for his right shoulder disability, have all been denied. The Veteran also has been granted TDIU based on his service-connected disabilities.,PTSD was not found to be manifested by total social impairment at any time during the appeal period.

The Veteran's appeal includes multiple issues related to his service-connected conditions, including increased ratings for various musculoskeletal disorders and a reduction in the rating for DJD of the lumbar spine. The Veteran also has an issue regarding service connection for tinnitus and another concerning TDIU.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for right wrist, right shoulder, and bilateral knee disabilities due to insufficient medical opinions addressing the etiology of these conditions.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded for further development, including obtaining a VA examination to determine the extent and severity of his service-connected bilateral plantar fasciitis.

The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for a rating in excess of 10 percent for residuals perilunate dislocation, right wrist and for a compensable rating for right wrist scar associated with residuals perilunate dislocation, right wrist due to insufficient evidence. A new VA examination is needed to assess the current severity of these disabilities.

The Veteran's claims for service connection have been denied due to lack of new and material evidence. The liver disability claim is also denied as the evidence does not support a causal relationship with military service.

The Board has dismissed all appeals due to the Veteran's withdrawal of his claims.

The Board has remanded the case due to an inadequate VA medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's right wrist disability is caused by or aggravated by his service-connected left-hand neuritis and/or service-connected left forearm and hand scar disability.

The Veteran's appeals have been dismissed as he has withdrawn his appeal for increased ratings and other issues related to his hip disabilities, carpal tunnel syndrome, knee disability, hand disability, hypertension, effective date of service connection, and reopening the claim for hearing loss.

The Board has remanded the claims for carpal tunnel syndrome as it failed to explain its standard for differentiating between mild, moderate, and severe incomplete paralysis and did not adequately explain why the Veteran's symptoms were only sensory when they also acknowledged other symptoms.

The Board denied service connection for carpal tunnel syndrome of the left upper extremity, finding that it is not related to active service and not secondary to a service-connected disability.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims of service connection for pes planus and a right wrist disability due to incomplete compliance with previous remand directives. The case will be returned to the RO for further review.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for additional development due to outstanding medical records and uncompleted VA examinations.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including his depressive disorder not otherwise specified and traumatic arthritis of the left wrist, have rendered him unemployable for periods on appeal. The Board has granted a TDIU from June 17, 2008 to December 2, 2012 and from February 1, 2014 to February 26, 2017. Additionally, the Veteran is entitled to SMC at the housebound rate for these periods.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not meet the criteria for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) due to his physical limitations, but he is capable of working in a sedentary position.

The Veteran's appeal for service connection for a left shoulder disability has been dismissed. The Board also remanded several other claims related to various disabilities.