The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for arthritis of the hands and found that her service-connected disabilities did not prevent her from securing and maintaining some type of substantially gainful employment.
The deciding factor: The evidence of record, including VA treatment records and VA examinations, showed no competent medical evidence of arthritis of the hands. The Veteran's reported symptoms were not sufficient to establish a diagnosis of arthritis of the hands.
- Claimed conditions
- Arthritis of the hands
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 23, 2009
- Citation
- 0910773
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 bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and a foot condition due to lack of evidence supporting a link between the conditions and the Veteran's military service. The claim for arthritis of the hands was remanded for further development.
- Remanded (sent back)
The appeal is being remanded to the RO for further development, including a VA examination to determine if the veteran's arthritis of the hands is related to service or his service-connected disabilities.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for a cervical spine disability, bilateral knee disability, left ankle disability, and bilateral foot disability as secondary to the veteran's service-connected lumbar intervertebral syndrome. The claims for a bilateral elbow disability, bilateral hand disability, bilateral shoulder disability, and right ankle disability were denied.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, effective from the date of the February 2025 rating decision.
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