The Board finds that the Veteran does not have a current left hand/wrist disorder and therefore, service connection cannot be granted.
The deciding factor: The clinical evidence shows no current left hand/wrist disorder other than the service-connected 4th finger disability. The absence of additional left hand disorder is confirmed by the VA examining physician.
- Claimed conditions
- left hand/wrist disorder, arthritis in the left hand
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 12, 2015
- Citation
- 1501453
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 1501453.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for arthritis in the left hand and degenerative joint disease (DJD) in the thoracolumbar spine, finding that the Veteran's symptoms have been continuous since service separation.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has ordered a remand due to the inadequacy of the February 2013 VA medical opinion, which did not explain why the Veteran's age at the time of his examination was relevant or why the lack of ongoing chronic treatment for frostbite indicated that the current diagnosis was unrelated to the in-service frostbite.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for arthritis in the right hand and DJD in the thoracolumbar spine are granted. The claim for arthritis in the left hand is denied as it was not caused by or worsened by the service-connected right shoulder DJD.
- Granted
The Veteran's appeal to reopen service connection for residuals of a left distal radius fracture is granted. The Board also remanded the issue of entitlement to service connection for residuals of a left distal radius fracture with arthritis.
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