The Board found that the veteran's service-connected disabilities, particularly his right hand and leg injuries, preclude him from engaging in substantially gainful employment. Therefore, it granted a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
The deciding factor: The veteran's service-connected disabilities, including those of the right hand and leg, resulted in industrial impairment that prevented him from performing manual labor or other forms of work he had previously engaged in.
- Claimed conditions
- residuals of injury to index and ring fingers, right hand, residuals of injury to the right leg, neurologic residuals of shell fragments to the right arm, residuals of wounds to stomach, chest, small intestines, colon and liver with closed colostomy, residuals of fragment wounds to face, residuals of fragment wounds to the arms and left leg, fracture of the right middle tibia, Hepatitis C
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 70%
- Decision date
- June 17, 2004
- Citation
- 0415630
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,710 · Granted: 15% (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 0415630.
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 a compensable initial rating for Hepatitis C, finding that the Veteran's condition was asymptomatic and did not meet the criteria for any higher rating.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's Hepatitis C with cirrhosis is related to service, and therefore grants service connection for these conditions.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's depressive disorder is granted as service-connected, with the Board finding it related to his active duty service and aggravated by his service-connected tibia fractures. The claim for hepatitis C is remanded due to inadequate medical opinions regarding its etiology.,Service connection for depressive disorder is established based on direct evidence of a current disability (depressive disorder) that was incurred during active duty service.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected Hepatitis C, lumbar DDD with strain, osteomyelitis, and loss of use of right foot disability rendered him so helpless as to be in need of regular aid and attendance. Effective October 28, 2008, the Veteran meets the criteria for SMC under various provisions.
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