The Board determined that the preponderance of the evidence is against service connection for bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome as it was not manifested during active duty or within a year after, and there is no evidence linking the condition to any in-service event.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found no symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome during military service and noted that the Veteran's carpal tunnel syndrome developed 3 to 4 years after her data entry responsibilities ended, with no studies supporting a later onset due to such tasks.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 4, 2009
- Citation
- 0907997
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error, as it is unclear whether the Veteran's claimed conditions are due to any incident of his period of active service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome, left and right upper extremity cervical radiculopathy, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and generalized anxiety disorder to correct pre-decisional duty to assist errors.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for initial ratings higher than the assigned percentages for service-connected conditions, including migraine headaches, bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome, lumbosacral strain, and bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome as it was not shown to be related to the Veteran's active service, including any toxic exposure risk activity.
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