The Board granted an initial 20 percent rating for residuals of a fracture of the right 4th metacarpal joint, affording the veteran the benefit of the doubt.
The deciding factor: The disability more closely approximates the criteria for an initial 20 percent evaluation under Diagnostic Code 5010 due to pain and impairment to hand grip strength, involving two or more minor joints.
- Claimed conditions
- Residuals of a fracture of the right 4th metacarpal joint
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- January 5, 2009
- Citation
- 0900256
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 195 · Granted: 24% (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 0900256.
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
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