The Board finds that the veteran does not have arthritis of the hands, and thus cannot establish service connection for this condition. The issue of an increased rating for lumbar disc disease with lumbosacral strain and arthritis is remanded due to lack of recent VA examination.
The deciding factor: There is no competent evidence of current arthritis affecting the veteran's hands.
- Claimed conditions
- arthritis of the hands, lumbar disc disease with lumbosacral strain and arthritis
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 5, 2006
- Citation
- 0600137
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for the veteran's arthritis of the hands, stating that it did not manifest during or within one year after service and is not related to service, including exposure to herbicide agents.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the cases for further development and examination to determine if the Veteran's arthritis disabilities are proximately due or aggravated by his service-connected generalized anxiety disorder and bilateral first cuneiform metatarsal joint arthritis.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's asthma, hypertension, arthritis of the hands, and arthritis of the feet are remanded for further examination to determine their relationship to service or a service-connected disability.
- Denied
The Board found that there was no evidence of degenerative arthritis in the hands during service or for many years afterward, and no medical evidence linking current hand disabilities to military service.
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