The Veteran's application to reopen his service connection claim for left hand arthritis is granted, and he is now entitled to a 40 percent rating from April 14, 2014.
The deciding factor: New evidence received since the February 2014 RO decision raised a reasonable possibility of substantiating the service connection claim for left hand arthritis.
- Claimed conditions
- left hand arthritis, obstructive sleep apnea
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 40%
- Decision date
- January 2, 2019
- Citation
- 19100093
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, effective from the date of the February 2025 rating decision.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including prostate cancer and related disabilities, urinary incontinence, sleep apnea, hypertension, varicose veins, lumbar spine disability, hip arthritis, shoulder arthritis, ankle arthritis, knee strain, knee replacement, and hand arthritis. The only condition granted was a 10 percent rating for a fracture of the right proximal first metacarpal.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew the appeals for service connection for bilateral pes planus, obstructive sleep apnea, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issue of entitlement to service connection for obstructive sleep apnea due to a duty to assist error.
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