The veteran's service connection claim for residuals of a gunshot wound to the left hand is granted as his current condition can be linked to an in-service injury.
The deciding factor: The Board found that there was sufficient evidence to conclude that the veteran currently has residuals from a gunshot wound sustained during service, resolving any doubt in favor of the veteran.
- Claimed conditions
- residuals of a gunshot wound of the left hand
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 29, 2003
- Citation
- 0301755
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 685 · Granted: 36% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 0301755.
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 found that the Veteran's service-connected left hand wound residuals are currently rated as 10 percent disabling under diagnostic code 5309 for Muscle Group IX, the intrinsic muscles of the hand. The current rating is the highest possible under this code and does not meet the criteria for a higher rating based on limitation of motion.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for service connection for a skin disorder was previously denied. The Board found no new and material evidence to reopen the claim. The Veteran's PTSD is currently rated at 50 percent, but not higher due to occupational and social impairment. Ratings for residuals of gunshot wounds are also denied.
- Denied
The veteran's claim for a higher rating for his left hand disability was denied, as the RO used the tender and painful scar from the gunshot wound (GSW) in service as the sole basis for rating this disability. The issue of service connection for loss of function due to the GSW is not before the Board.
- 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.
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