The Board's May 1984 decision is overturned, and the veteran is granted a 20% rating for partial amputation through the ungual tuft of the distal phalanx of the right thumb under Diagnostic Code 5152, and a separate 10% rating for tender and painful scarring of the right thumb.
The deciding factor: The Board committed CUE by relying on its own unsubstantiated medical opinion in concluding that the veteran's partial right thumb amputation with tender and painful scars was not related to his initial in-service shrapnel wound injury.
- Claimed conditions
- shrapnel wounds of the right thumb
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- May 2, 2002
- Citation
- 0204066
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0204066.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board allowed the benefit or issue identified in this decision. Review the original order: other issues in the same appeal may have a different outcome, and this decision does not predict another claim.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's service-connected musculoligamentous strain, right knee, is currently rated at 10 percent and the Board finds that a higher rating is not warranted.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD is granted as the evidence shows a current diagnosis of PTSD, an in-service stressor, and a medical link between the two.
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