The Board found that the veteran did not sustain a right hand injury during service, and therefore denied service connection for a scar on the right hand.
The deciding factor: The service treatment records clearly reference an injury to the veteran's left hand during service, making it unlikely that he injured his right hand. The lay statements of comrades submitted by the veteran were recollections of events approximately 62 years after they took place and are not credible when weighed against the objective medical evidence in the record.
- Claimed conditions
- scar on the right hand
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 5, 2009
- Citation
- 0904104
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,435 · Granted: 22% (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 0904104.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for all four claimed disabilities (right shoulder, left knee, right ankle, and scar on the right hand) as there was no persuasive evidence linking them to active service.
- Denied
The Board denied all claims for earlier effective dates, finding that the earliest date of receipt of a claim was November 27, 2012.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's TDIU claim is being remanded for further development to determine his ability to secure and maintain substantially gainful employment due to his service-connected disabilities.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran's scar on the right hand does not warrant a rating in excess of 10 percent, as it is not deep and does not involve an area of at least 12 square inches (77 sq. cm.) and does not cause disabling effects not considered in the applicable diagnostic code.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.