The Board found that the veteran's bilateral hand arthritis did not manifest within one year of discharge and was not related to service. The low back disability evaluation remained at 20 percent.
The deciding factor: The evidence does not support a finding of direct service connection for bilateral hand arthritis or an increase in the current evaluation for low back disability.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hand arthritis, left third finger cold injury
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- December 17, 2008
- Citation
- 0843593
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 0843593.
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 determined that the evidence is insufficient to establish service connection for cause of death and remands the case for further development.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for a right hand burn with sensitivity to cold and bilateral hand arthritis due to inadequate opinions in previous VA examinations.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran was granted a TDIU effective June 13, 2023. The effective date is fixed at the date of claim (June 13, 2022) as there is no earlier entitlement.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board granted service connection for multiple conditions, including an acquired psychiatric disorder, sleep apnea, hypertension, and various musculoskeletal and skin disabilities.
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