The Board has reopened the veteran's claim and finds that he had additional disability in both hands due to surgeries performed at VA medical facilities, which was caused by carelessness or lack of proper skill on the part of VA.
The deciding factor: The IME opinion indicates worsening hand contractures after VA surgeries, while previous VA opinions concluded any increase was due to natural progression and not aggravated by surgery. The Board gives the veteran the benefit of doubt.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hand disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 12, 2006
- Citation
- 0631674
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 0631674.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
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- Denied
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- Denied
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- Partly granted
The Veteran's service-connected bipolar disorder is granted a higher initial rating of 100 percent, while other claims for service connection were denied.
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