The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have current, separate disabilities in her hips, hands, fingers, knees, ankles, or feet that are distinct from her service-connected rheumatoid arthritis. As such, she is denied service connection for these conditions.
The deciding factor: The evidence does not show current hip, hand, finger, knee, ankle, or foot disabilities separate and apart from the Veteran's already service-connected rheumatoid arthritis.
- Claimed conditions
- hip disability, bilateral hand disability, finger disability, bilateral knee disability, bilateral ankle disability, bilateral foot disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 9, 2017
- Citation
- 1707211
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 1707211.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a bilateral shoulder disability and increased ratings for her bilateral knee disabilities, finding no evidence of in-service injury or disease related to these conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for a neurological examination to determine if any diagnosed radiculopathy or other neurological disability affecting the lower extremities was caused or aggravated by service-connected conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for back, hip, and lower extremity disabilities due to a lack of VA examination and outstanding treatment records. The Veteran's current diagnoses and lay statements will be considered in determining if his conditions are related to service.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral foot disability is related to his active military service and grants service connection for this condition.
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