The Veteran's initial claim for an increased rating for his right forearm disability was denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support a higher rating prior to October 7, 2015 and no higher rating after that date. Service connection for arthritis of the right shoulder, cervical spine, and lumbosacral spine were also denied as there is no evidence showing these conditions are related to service or developed within one year post-service.
The deciding factor: The VA examination reports did not support a finding of claudication or trophic changes in the Veteran's right forearm prior to October 7, 2015. The examiner opined that the Veteran's current arthritis is more likely due to natural aging rather than his service-connected injury from 1965.
- Claimed conditions
- atherosclerotic calcification of the right forearm, arthritis of the right shoulder, arthritis of the cervical spine, arthritis of the lumbosacral spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- September 18, 2017
- Citation
- 1740150
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 1740150.
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.
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The Board has granted service connection for PTSD, major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, insomnia, unspecified psychosis, arthritis of the lumbar spine, degenerative disc disease, multilevel spinal stenosis, and arthritis of the cervical spine and degenerative disc disease. The diagnoses are linked to in-service physical assaults.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea and dismissed all other appeals related to various joint conditions.
- Granted
The Veteran's service connection claims for various musculoskeletal conditions have been granted, with a specific rating of 40 percent for the right upper extremity weakness resulting from stroke.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for a cervical spine disability including arthritis of the cervical spine, and herniated nucleus pulposus of cervical spine secondary to his service-connected lumbosacral strain with intervertebral disc syndrome.
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