The Board has determined that the Veteran's current left hand and lower back conditions are not related to his active service, and therefore denied both claims.
The deciding factor: There is no evidence of a chronic condition or injury in service, and any current disabilities are not etiologically linked to service.
- Claimed conditions
- Residuals of a left hand injury, Degenerative disc disease and degenerative arthritis of the thoracolumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- October 29, 2014
- Citation
- 1448087
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 1448087.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
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 Veteran's cervical and thoracolumbar spine disabilities were found to not meet the criteria for increased ratings, with the most severe forward flexion of the thoracolumbar spine being limited to 40 degrees and that of the cervical spine limited to 20 degrees.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for increased disability ratings due to inadequate VA examinations. The Veteran is seeking higher ratings for his cervical spine and low back disabilities.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran did not sustain any injuries to his back or left hand during service, nor is there evidence of a link between these conditions and service.,There was no injury to the Veteran's left hand in service. The Board found that any claimed left hand disorder is not related to service.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied increased evaluations for various service-connected conditions, finding that the evidence did not meet the criteria for higher ratings under either version of the applicable rating criteria.
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