The Board has determined that the Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection are denied as there is no evidence of a separate disability of the hands and/or fingers related to his service-connected epicondylitis. The VA examinations did not find any such disability.
The deciding factor: VA medical opinions found no objective evidence linking the Veteran's degenerative joint disease of the hands and fingers to his service-connected epicondylitis of the elbows, or to aging alone.
- Claimed conditions
- epicondylitis of the right elbow, epicondylitis of the left elbow, degenerative joint disease of the hands and fingers
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 26, 2015
- Citation
- 1536611
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 1536611.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's prescribed topical skin medication, triamcinolone cream, caused irreparable damage to his clothing and the Board granted a clothing allowance for 2020 based on this.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded two issues related to the Veteran's service-connected epicondylitis of the right elbow, requesting new VA examinations to determine the current severity and functional impairment.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for an initial disability rating in excess of 10 percent for left elbow epicondylitis is being remanded due to the need for additional information and a new VA examination.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded two claims for additional development: one for a higher rating for limited extension of the right elbow and another for a higher rating for limited flexion. The Veteran's service-connected epicondylitis of the right elbow is currently rated at 10 percent for limited extension and 20 percent for limited flexion.
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