The Veteran seeks service connection for a bilateral hand disorder, including arthritis of the hands. The Board finds that there is no evidence to support a finding that his current condition is related to his military service or any service-connected disability.
The deciding factor: The VA examination report and opinion in April 2015 determined that the Veteran's bilateral hand disorder was not caused by or aggravated by his service-connected right wrist disability, and was more likely due to aging.
- Claimed conditions
- arthritis of the bilateral hands
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- September 28, 2015
- Citation
- 1541939
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 1541939.
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: Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for increased ratings and earlier effective dates for various joint conditions, cervical spine arthritis, lumbosacral spine arthritis, and radiculopathy of the upper extremities to obtain additional medical opinions.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for various joint disabilities prior to September 27, 2002 due to a need for further development and medical opinions.
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