The Veteran's claims for cellulitis of the right hand and acute gonococcal urethritis were denied as there is no current diagnosis or evidence of an in-service injury. The claim to reopen service connection for cold weather injury residuals affecting all joints was also denied due to lack of new and material evidence.
The deciding factor: The Veteran does not have a current diagnosis of cellulitis of the right hand or acute gonococcal urethritis, and there is no evidence of an in-service injury resulting in these conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- cellulitis of the right hand, acute gonococcal urethritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- May 21, 2015
- Citation
- 1521766
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 1521766.
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 the petitions to reopen claims for service connection for various conditions, including allergic rhinitis, bronchitis, athlete's foot, right foot fracture, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, eczema, and cellulitis of the right hand. The evidence did not show current disabilities during the appeals period.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's claim for a compensable rating for residuals of a contusion of the right hand, status post incision and drainage was granted. A 20 percent rating was assigned for scars of the right hand due to their painful nature but not instability.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for additional development due to a lack of discussion of supportive private medical opinions in the VA examination report.
- Whole decision: 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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