The Board has denied the veteran's claims of service connection for right shoulder, neck, low back, and leg problems as secondary to his service-connected partial amputation of the distal middle finger. The VA examiner found no evidence that these conditions were related to the service-connected disability.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner determined that the veteran would not have been able to prevent a fall due to his right middle finger amputation, and thus could not have suffered any injuries as claimed.
- Claimed conditions
- Right Shoulder Disability, Neck Disability, Low Back Disability, Leg Problems
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 7, 2003
- Citation
- 0304065
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 0304065.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 70% rating for PTSD from November 25, 2015 to August 12, 2024 and a 40% rating for the right shoulder disability. It also granted 10% ratings for both feet and 20% ratings for knee patellofemoral pain syndromes.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for multiple conditions, including PTSD, IBS, cardiac arrhythmia, CFS, chronic headaches, chronic sinusitis, dyspnea, and fibromyalgia. The claim for bilateral pes planus was remanded.
- Remanded (sent back)
The character of the appellant's uncharacterized discharge is not a bar to the receipt of Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits; to this extent only, the claim is granted.
- Denied
The Board denied the claims for service connection for chronic fatigue syndrome, a low back disability, a left knee disability, and a left shoulder disability as there was no evidence to support that these conditions were incurred in or caused by the Veteran's military service.
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