The Veteran's claims for service connection for arthritis of the bilateral elbows and hands have been denied as there is no evidence showing that these conditions were incurred or aggravated by his military service, including herbicide exposure.
The deciding factor: There was no in-service diagnosis or treatment for arthritis of the elbows or hands. The condition has not been shown to be related to service, including herbicide exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- arthritis of the bilateral elbows, arthritis of the bilateral hands
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- March 24, 2015
- Citation
- 1512378
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 1512378.
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 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: Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for thoracolumbar spondylosis with degenerative joint disease and remanded claims for internal derangement of the left knee with meniscectomy, bilateral pes planus, arthritis of the shoulders, elbows, hands and fingers, legs, diabetes mellitus, hypertension.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for arthritis of the cervical spine, bilateral knees, bilateral elbows, and bilateral shoulders to obtain new VA medical opinions that adequately address whether these conditions are related to military service or aggravated by service-connected disabilities.
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