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 assigned
- 20%
- 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. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 0204066.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- 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.
- 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.
- Denied
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- 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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