The Veteran's seronegative polyarthritis of the thoracolumbar spine, knees, hands, and shoulders is not manifested by weight loss and anemia productive of severe impairment of health or severely incapacitating exacerbations occurring 4 or more times a year. Therefore, his claim for a higher disability rating is denied.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's arthritis does not meet the criteria for a 60 percent evaluation due to lack of evidence of weight loss and anemia productive of severe impairment of health.
- Claimed conditions
- seronegative polyarthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 40%
- Decision date
- March 3, 2010
- Citation
- 1008025
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 1008025.
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 Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining VA medical records and scheduling the Veteran for a comprehensive VA examination to determine the current severity of his service-connected conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for a higher disability rating for his service-connected seronegative polyarthritis of the thoracolumbar spine, knees, hands, and shoulders is being remanded due to the need for additional medical records and an examination.
- Denied
The veteran's service-connected gout with seronegative polyarthritis is currently rated at 40 percent, but the Board found that it does not meet the criteria for a higher evaluation due to lack of constitutional manifestations or severe impairment.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
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