Wrist & hand Board decisions

The Board has determined that the Veteran's August 29, 2005 statement constitutes an informal claim for service connection for right carpal tunnel syndrome. As a result, the effective date for the grant of service connection is set at August 31, 2005.

The Board denied service connection for right hand carpal tunnel syndrome, bilateral foot disorder, and damage to the eyes. The Veteran's claims were evaluated based on direct evidence of a relationship between his current conditions and active duty service.

The appellant withdrew his appeal regarding the issues of service connection for residuals of a right wrist injury, residuals of a left wrist injury and residuals of a right knee injury.

The Board finds that the Veteran's peripheral neuropathy of the left upper extremity is likely due to his service-connected diabetes mellitus. The Board also found that the service-connected diabetes mellitus did not cause or aggravate the residuals of a left wrist fracture, status post left wrist fusion.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for further development due to incomplete records and need for proper notice of how to substantiate a claim for service connection based on aggravation under 38 C.F.R. § 3.306.

The Veteran's PTSD is currently rated at 50 percent and the effective date for this rating is April 30, 2002. The Veteran's left ulnar nerve injury of the wrist is service connected as secondary to his service-connected shell fragment wound of the left hand. Service connection for a cervical spine/neck disability is not granted due to lack of evidence linking it to service or service-connected conditions.

The Veteran's increased rating claims for his left knee disability and right wrist injury were denied. The Veteran was granted a temporary total rating for the left knee disability from February 3, 2006 to March 31, 2007, with a subsequent 30 percent evaluation effective April 1, 2007.

The Veteran's attempts to establish service connection for various conditions were generally denied by the RO, with some exceptions regarding reopening of a claim for an acquired psychiatric disorder and continued denial of others. The Board noted that new evidence had been received to reopen this specific claim.

The Veteran's claim for service connection of a left wrist (nondominant) shell fragment wound with retained foreign body is granted, effective October 5, 2004.

The Board denied service connection for carpal tunnel syndrome, degenerative joint disease of the knees and shoulders, and stomach disorder on secondary basis to a service-connected spine disorder. The Veteran's current disorders are not related to his service-connected spine disorder.

The Veteran's right carpal tunnel syndrome has been rated at a 10 percent disability rating since August 1, 2004.

The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for post-traumatic right (major) wrist derangement prior to September 22, 2009 was denied. The claim for an effective date earlier than September 22, 2009 for service connection of a bilateral shoulder disorder is remanded.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for a psychiatric disability other than PTSD, schizophrenia or inadequate personality with depressive reaction was denied. The Board found that new and material evidence had not been received to reopen the claim. Service connection for PTSD, CTS of the right wrist, and CTS of the left wrist were also denied.

The Board found that the Veteran's right and left carpal tunnel syndromes were not incurred in or aggravated by active service, nor may service incurrence be presumed. As a result, the claims for service connection for these conditions were denied.

The Veteran's claim for an initial increased rating for his right wrist disability from April 12, 2007 to August 7, 2008 was denied as the evidence did not show that the condition warranted a higher rating. Since October 1, 2008, the Veteran's right wrist disability has been rated at 30 percent disabling.

The Veteran's low back, respiratory, memory loss, and joint pain conditions were not incurred in or aggravated by service.,Service connection was denied for all claimed disabilities.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection have been denied. The Board found no new evidence to reopen the claim of segmental dysfunction, cervical spine.

The Veteran's claims for service connection and increased ratings were denied. The Board found that the alcohol dependence claim had no legal merit, while the major depressive disorder, left wrist disability, right ankle degenerative joint disease, and left ankle degenerative joint disease claims were not supported by evidence of a direct or secondary service connection.

The Veteran's skin disability and left wrist ganglion disability are rated at the maximum allowable under VA regulations, warranting a 60 percent evaluation for his skin disability and no rating for his left wrist ganglion.

Service connection is granted for residuals of carpal tunnel release to the right wrist. Service connection is denied for left wrist disorder and left leg disorder.,The Veteran was diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome in June 2003, which led to a carpal tunnel release procedure in December 2003. His left wrist disorder, characterized as posttraumatic paresthesias, has not been linked to service.