Wrist & hand Board decisions

The Veteran's right ankle disability has been granted a 20% rating since December 21, 2011. The other claims for increased ratings have also been granted.

The Board has reopened the Veteran's claim for service connection for a bilateral upper extremity disability, including carpal tunnel syndrome in both hands. The examiner will be asked to determine if his current hand disabilities are related to his time in active duty.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development to determine the etiology of his tinnitus and right shoulder/wrist injuries, as well as to obtain updated treatment records.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for carpal tunnel syndrome of the right wrist and sleep apnea, as well as his claim for an increased rating for low back pain with Schmorl's nodes L2/3 and 5, with degenerative disc disease. The combined evaluation was correctly calculated.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including his lower extremity and neurological conditions, effectively result in the loss of use of his left lower extremity together with residuals of organic disease which so affect the functions of balance or propulsion that he is precluded from locomotion without the aid of a cane. His claim for specially adapted housing assistance is granted.

The Veteran's combined schedular rating for multiple service-connected disabilities has now reached 100 percent, rendering moot his claim for a total disability evaluation based on individual unemployability due to service connected disorders.

The Veteran's degenerative joint disease of the left knee is found to be aggravated by his service-connected right knee disability.,Service connection for right wrist degenerative joint disease and a right arm disability, radial nerve laceration are granted with initial noncompensable ratings.

The Veteran's appeal for a higher rating for his service-connected Ganglion cyst, left wrist, was denied. The claim for secondary service connection of the left shoulder bursitis to the service-connected left wrist condition is also denied.

The VA determined that the Veteran did not have a chronic wrist disability during service or since, and thus denied his claim for service connection.

The Board has granted service connection for right carpal tunnel syndrome and ulnar neuropathy as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected residuals of fracture of the right third metacarpal.

The Veteran's right wrist disability is rated at 20 percent, the highest available under Diagnostic Code 5010 for traumatic arthritis. The claim for a higher evaluation is denied as there are no criteria met for a higher rating.

The Veteran's diabetes mellitus, type 2, is causally related to service. His diabetic nephropathy, chronic renal insufficiency with anemia (renal disorder), diabetic retinopathy, diabetic maculopathy, with bilateral mature cataracts (eye disorder), and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral lower extremities are all secondary to his diabetes mellitus, type 2.

The Veteran's service-connected right hip bursitis, cervical strain, status post right shoulder dislocation, and ganglion cyst of the left wrist are each rated at 10 percent. The claims for higher initial ratings have been denied.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded to obtain additional VA examinations and records development, including for right wrist and leg disorders as well as ingrown toenails. The case will be reviewed again after these actions are completed.

The Veteran has withdrawn his appeals regarding the disability ratings for his respiratory condition, left CTS, and residuals of a left wrist fracture.

The Veteran's service connection claim for throat cancer is granted. The left wrist arthritis is found to have its onset during service and is therefore service-connected.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including obtaining a supplemental opinion from the June 2010 VA peripheral nerves examiner regarding the Veteran's claimed carpal tunnel syndrome and scheduling electrodiagnostic testing if deemed necessary.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development and consideration, including obtaining service personnel records and arranging for a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of his claimed disabilities.

The Board granted a higher initial rating of 20 percent for the residuals of the left wrist fracture, effective from April 28, 2009. The claim for service connection for hypertension and associated heart disease was denied, as were the claims for TDIU.

The Veteran's service-connected left wrist disability has been rated at 20 percent since May 22, 2006. The Board finds that the evidence does not support a higher rating for any period from May 22, 2006 to the present.