The Board found that there was no evidence of degenerative arthritis in the hands during service or for many years afterward, and no medical evidence linking current hand disabilities to military service.
The deciding factor: Degenerative changes in the hands were not present in service or within one year after discharge, and there is no medical evidence establishing a nexus between the Veteran's current hand conditions and his active military service.
- Claimed conditions
- arthritis of the hands
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 5, 2009
- Citation
- 0904248
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 the veteran's arthritis of the hands, stating that it did not manifest during or within one year after service and is not related to service, including exposure to herbicide agents.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the cases for further development and examination to determine if the Veteran's arthritis disabilities are proximately due or aggravated by his service-connected generalized anxiety disorder and bilateral first cuneiform metatarsal joint arthritis.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's asthma, hypertension, arthritis of the hands, and arthritis of the feet are remanded for further examination to determine their relationship to service or a service-connected disability.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including a psychiatric disorder other than post-traumatic stress disorder, hypertension, congestive heart failure, kidney disease, arthritis of the hands, chronic fatigue syndrome, and back disability. The claims to reopen for arthritis of the knees and stress fractures of the legs and feet were also denied.
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