The Board found that the July 1950 rating decision was not clearly and unmistakably erroneous, as there was no evidence indicating a disability more severe than an asymptomatic scar of the left index finger at the time.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence submitted in 1981 demonstrated that the veteran had incurred a residual injury to the bone and joints of his left index finger, which warranted a maximum 10 percent disability rating for ankylosis of the index finger. However, this evidence was not available at the time of the July 1950 decision.
- Claimed conditions
- Left index finger disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- March 13, 2003
- Citation
- 0304705
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 195 · Granted: 24% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0304705.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
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: Dismissed
The Board dismissed the claims for service connection for various disabilities, including bilateral hearing loss, right knee, right hand, left knee, right ankle, and residuals of a traumatic brain injury due to untimely appeals or lack of evidence supporting current disability.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied service connection for all the claimed conditions as there was no evidence of a current disability in accordance with VA standards.
- Whole decision: Partly granted
The Board granted initial ratings for the Veteran's right thumb, index finger, and long finger disabilities, as well as a separate rating for his left thumb disability. The claims for increased ratings for the right ring and little fingers, and left ring and little fingers were denied.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings and remanded a claim for service connection for a right hand disability.
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