The Board has determined that the Veteran's current bilateral hand disorders are not related to exposure to cold weather in service, and the criteria for service connection have not been met.
The deciding factor: There is no evidence of a cold weather injury or arthritis due to such an injury during service. The residuals from a right index finger fracture are noted but do not meet the criteria for direct service connection as there is no evidence of in-service incurrence or aggravation.
- Claimed conditions
- Cold Weather Injury to Right Hand, Cold Weather Injury to Left Hand, Arthritis of Right Hand, Arthritis of Right Elbow
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 8, 2009
- Citation
- 0925535
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 0925535.
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 the Veteran's claim for service connection for right elbow disability, finding that there was no credible evidence of an in-service injury to the elbow and concluding that any current right elbow disability is not related to service.
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The Board has determined that the Veteran's right shoulder and arthritis of the right hand do not warrant a higher rating under any applicable diagnostic codes.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran's current right shoulder disability, arthritis of both hands, and bilateral eye disorders including glaucoma were not incurred or aggravated in service. The evidence does not support a finding of service connection for these conditions.
- Denied
The Board found that the Veteran's tinnitus was not incurred in or aggravated by service, as there is no evidence of a chronic condition present during service and current tinnitus is unrelated to any injury or disease in service.
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