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Denied

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for osteoarthritis of the first digit, right hand as secondary to his service-connected right hand scar and an increased evaluation for a shell fragment wound scar. The decision found that the veteran's osteoarthritis was unrelated to his service-connected condition.

The deciding factor: The VA examiner determined that the veteran's osteoarthritis had nothing to do with his old shrapnel wound, based on the fact that he had gone several years asymptomatically and because the shrapnel wound was not particularly in an area that would cause the type of pain he was having.

Claimed conditions
osteoarthritis of the first digit, right hand
How they argued it
Secondary to another service-connected condition
Exposure basis
None
Rating assigned
None in this decision
Decision date
October 20, 2004
Citation
0428790

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 0428790.

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