The Board has determined that the veteran's claimed hand and back conditions are not related to his service-connected rheumatic fever, and thus denied these claims.
The deciding factor: Competent medical evidence does not establish an etiological relationship between the veteran's current diagnoses of rheumatoid arthritis of the hands and degenerative spondylolisthesis of L5 on S1 with minimal posterior degenerative disc disease and his service-connected rheumatic fever.
- Claimed conditions
- rheumatoid arthritis of the hands, degenerative spondylolisthesis of L5 on S1 with minimal posterior degenerative disc disease
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- October 19, 2006
- Citation
- 0632513
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,013 · Granted: 17% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0632513.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has found that there was not substantial compliance with the May 2018 remand directives and has ordered additional development to obtain VA treatment records from Allen Park VAMC, Detroit VAMC, Selfridge Air National Guard Base, and any TRICARE records. The Veteran's claim for service connection for rheumatoid arthritis of the knees, ankles, arms, hands, feet, and back is remanded.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran's currently diagnosed rheumatoid arthritis of the shoulders, knees, elbows, hands, feet, and neck was not incurred or aggravated during his period of active military service. The claim is therefore denied.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board has determined that new and material evidence has not been received to reopen the claims for service connection for rheumatoid arthritis of the hands and bilateral pes planus. The Veteran's hidradenitis suppurativa, keloid on the right breast, hypopigmented keloid on the right lower extremity, atopic dermatitis, left knee chondromalacia patella, and right knee chondromalacia patella have all been evaluated as not meeting the criteria for higher ratings. The Veteran's major depressive disorder with anxiety disorder and PTSD symptoms has also not met the criteria for a rating in excess of 50 percent.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's heart condition is presumed to be due to herbicide exposure in Vietnam, and he has a current diagnosis of coronary artery disease. His other claims are denied.
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