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Granted

The Board has granted increased ratings for the veteran's service-connected disabilities, including wounds to his left hand and right forearm with retained foreign bodies, as well as partial amputation of his third and fourth fingers. The current evaluations are 10%, 20%, and 20% respectively.

The deciding factor: The evidence demonstrated that the veteran's disability picture more nearly approximated moderately severe disability for both the right forearm and left hand conditions, warranting increased ratings under Diagnostic Codes 5308 and 5309. The partial amputation of his fingers was also rated at 20%.

Claimed conditions
Partial amputation of the third and fourth fingers of the left hand, Wound residuals of left hand with retained foreign bodies, Wound residuals of right forearm with retained foreign bodies
How they argued it
Direct service connection
Exposure basis
None
Rating assigned
40%
Decision date
March 31, 2004
Citation
0408349

Veterans Law Judge

STEPHEN L. WILKINS

Decisions by this judge: 1,599 · Granted: 37% (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 0408349.

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.

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