The Veteran's claim for service connection for arthritis of the hands due to cold injuries has been granted. The Board found that the Veteran had current disability, in-service incurrence of a disease or injury (cold exposure), and medical nexus between the claimed in-service disease or injury and the current disability.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner's opinion supported by the service record evidence established a link between the cold injuries sustained during service and the current arthritis of the hands.
- Claimed conditions
- arthritis of the bilateral hands, arthritis of the bilateral feet
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- September 21, 2009
- Citation
- 0935506
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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0935506.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board allowed the benefit or issue identified in this decision. Review the original order: other issues in the same appeal may have a different outcome, and this decision does not predict another claim.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied service connection for arthritis of the bilateral hands, left shoulder disability, and right shoulder disability as there was no evidence to support a current disability or a relationship to service.
- Whole decision: Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for right knee osteoarthritis, finding it was aggravated by the Veteran's service-connected muscle spasm disorder due to meningitis. The issue of entitlement to service connection for arthritis of the bilateral hands is remanded.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for increased ratings and earlier effective dates for various joint conditions, cervical spine arthritis, lumbosacral spine arthritis, and radiculopathy of the upper extremities to obtain additional medical opinions.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for various joint disabilities prior to September 27, 2002 due to a need for further development and medical opinions.
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