The Board found that the veteran's current arthritis of the knees and right hand is not etiologically related to his military service. The claims for service connection were denied.
The deciding factor: The VA physician who examined the veteran in September 2003 concluded that the veteran's current arthritis of the knees and right hand was not related to his military service based on the veteran's account of his injuries.
- Claimed conditions
- Traumatic arthritis of the second, third, fourth and fifth fingers of the right hand, Bilateral knee disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 20, 2006
- Citation
- 0618045
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,325 · Granted: 31% (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 0618045.
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.
- Dismissed
The appeal for service connection for a right ear hearing loss disability is dismissed. The appeal for service connection for bilateral knee disabilities is denied.
- Dismissed
The appeal of the June 2025 AOJ decision regarding entitlement to service connection for disabilities caused by thyroid is dismissed. The AOJ's denial of other claims (bilateral knee, shoulder, hip, neuropathy, and stomach ulcer) is remanded.
- Granted
The Veteran is unable to secure and follow a substantially gainful occupation due to his service-connected musculoskeletal disabilities, which render him unemployable.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the claims for service connection for a mental health disability and bilateral knee disabilities due to the need for VA examinations.
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