The Board denied service connection for arthritis of the hands and fingers, as well as arthritis of the back, finding no evidence linking these conditions to the Veteran's military service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found no records of treatment or complaints of hand, finger, or back problems in service, and noted that the earliest available treatment records were from approximately 2007, over 27 years after service. The Board favored this opinion over a medical opinion provided by Dr. Buhlke.
- Claimed conditions
- arthritis of the hands and fingers, arthritis of the back
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 2, 2009
- Citation
- 0907665
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 various claimed disabilities, including right and left knee replacements, ankle sprains, neck strain, lumbosacral strain, rotator cuff tear, shoulder dislocation, and sleep apnea, as the evidence did not support a finding of a nexus between these conditions and the Veteran's military service.
- 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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for various joint disabilities, finding that there was no evidence of a nexus between his current arthritis and his military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for a disability rating and service connection due to new evidence and further examination.
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